


Tricked

by Sleepy_Dormouse



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter Next Generation, M/M, Scorbus, There are more characters but I don't want to give anything away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-11-29 07:58:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11436540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepy_Dormouse/pseuds/Sleepy_Dormouse
Summary: After being away for a few month Lily returns to Hogwarts to find that her brother, Albus, and his best friend, Scorpius, are acting strange. Now it is up to Lily to find out what is going on! This story contains Scorbus (Scorpius x Albus).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first time writing a Harry Potter fan fiction. I would like to thank my beta reader, Just_a_fangirl, for really pushing me to just come out from behind my lurking corner and write this bad boy. I based this fic off of a story from another fandom I really enjoy. I will let you read and see if you can figure out what that other fandom is. Also this fic contains Scorbus so if you're into that, like I obviously am, I hope you enjoy the story. With that said, please enjoy.

Lily Potter sat alone in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. She watched the scenery dash by with a half-dazed gaze through a partially fogged window. It looked very cold outside, despite being warm in her compartment. At the moment the sun was barely peeking through the dark gray clouds as they gathered in the sky. She knew a storm was on it’s way and would probably beat her to Hogwarts.

For the first time ever, she was the only passenger on the old train. The Trolly Witch only came by once offering her a pumpkin pasty, which she declined. Her older brother and his best friend had alerted her to what the Trolly Witch’s pumpkin pasties really were, and despite her intrigue she decided she didn’t want to find out if her brother had been telling the truth. 

It was the last week of October now. Normally, students would head to Hogwarts at the beginning of September, but Lily had spent half her summer vacation and the first few weeks of term studying abroad in Africa at their most prestigious wizarding school, Uagadou. Lily had discovered she had a talent for spell casting and transfiguration, so Professor McGonagall recommended she spend some time at Uagadou to try her hand at wandless magic. Though her mother and father had been reluctant at first, she had worked her only daughter/youngest child magic on Daddy and next thing she knew she was on her way to Africa.

She had been surprised to find that wandless magic came easily to her. At first it had been odd to cast spells without a wand but it felt almost natural now. It had been very difficult for her to leave Uagadou. She had just begun to make friends and found great joy in learning about other cultures. She had even considered staying at Uagadou for the rest of the year, but Lily also could not shake Hogwarts from her mind. It was her true home after all, and She had a close-kit group of friends waiting for her. She could travel to Africa again someday but she only had a few more years left at Hogwarts and then she would have to leave it.

Lily let loose a calm sigh as her mind went from Uagadou to Hogwarts. She wondered how her friends were doing. Were they as excited to see her as she was to see them? She then thought of her brother, Albus, and his best friend, Scorpius, who were now in the 6th year. She was very excited to see them. Over the past year and a half,she had become close to both of them. Due to a series of crazy events, she had almost lost her brother in her 2nd year. It had really opened her eyes to the value of her family and she had made it a point to spend more time with her aloof older brother.

At the time, she was unsure about the younger Malfoy, who was, and probably still is, attached to Albus at the hip. She had come to find that Scorpius was a little strange, but very funny and easier to get along with than Albus. Scorpius had saved her several times from failing multiple exams, and he always had a funny pun up his sleeve, ready at any moment to use them. He and Lily had even started to keep a small notebook of their favorite puns. At the beginning of her 3rd year, she and Scorpius had even come up with a silly handshake. They always greeted each other with the handshake, mostly to get a reaction out of Albus, who pretended to not like it.

Albus, on the other hand, had been reluctant to indulge her neediness at first, but never really pushed Lily away. She knew Albus had his own issues with Dad and James, but he never really had much of a problem with her. As kids they generally got along, and so connecting again with her middle brother had not been too hard. Albus was always more patient with her than James had been, and always made her feel welcome to hang around, even if she and Scorpius made bad puns. Any time she had a falling out with a friend or issue in school, she knew she could always rely on Albus to be there for her. He was very protective and caring, even if he tried with every last fiber of his being to hide it. 

Lily’s eyelids became heavy as she daydreamed about seeing her friends and brother once more. As the cozy compartment rattled back and forth, Lily drifted off to a sweet, peaceful sleep. 

……..

Lily was unsure how much time had passed when the train arrived at its destination. Hagrid had been the one sent to pick her up and escort her the rest of the way to Hogwarts. He had found her asleep in the compartment and it took several tries to wake her up.

Now she sat across from Hagrid in the thestral-drawn carriage. The old family friend  talked on and on about his latest magical pet. The man barely fit in the carriage, and whenever they hit a bump his head made contact with the ceiling. Despite the heavy rain and crisp breeze, the carriage was toasty and comfortable inside. With the sound of Hagrid’s gruff, comforting voice and the rocking back and forth of the carriage, it took everything in Lily not to doze off yet again.

Before she knew it, the two had arrived at school. To her delight, her three closest friends were waiting and ready to greet her at the school’s entrance.

“Lily!” cheered her Hufflepuff friend, Norma. The bubbly girl charged Lily and tackled her with a large hug.

“It’s so good to see you again,” added Sandra, a tall, dark-haired Ravenclaw. She strode over with less enthusiasm, but still happy to see Lily.

“I hope this rain wasn't too much of a problem,” came the soft shy voice of Lily’s third and shortest friend, Mary. Mary was dressed in green Slytherin robes.

The group had all become close in their 2nd year and had decided to be the spokes-girls for house unity, showing that all four houses could get along.

“Girls!” Lily cheered. The group of four shared a warm hug. Seeing her three friends confirmed to Lily that coming back to Hogwarts was the right choice in the end. “The storm was no trouble at all,” she added. She looked around to find that her brother was nowhere to be seen. Her smile fell slightly.

“Is something wrong, Lily?” Norma asked.

“Where’s my brother. Dad said he would be here to greet me,” Lily mumbled in reply.

Her four friends exchanged looks of confusion.

“I saw him this morning in the Slytherin common room with Scorpius. They seemed busy,” Mary said in a soft voice.

“Yeah, now that I think about it I haven't really seen them around during free hours,” Sandra added. “N-Not that I am looking around for your brother or anything,” she said, as a light pink blush graced her cheeks.

“Well, they are probably just busy with preparations for the big celebration at the end of the month. I heard they had agreed to help prepare the event,” Norma chimed in.

“Oh right, my dad told me about that,” Lily said. “There is some sort of ball thing at the end of the month or something, right? Strangely enough, my Dad said I should talk with Albus of all people if I wanted to help out.” 

“Yeah, it’s to celebrate Harry Potter Day. The day your father first stopped Lord Voldemort as a baby,” Norma said dramatically.

“And you’re telling me that Albus is helping out with this?” Lily said disbelievingly. Helping out with a school event was not Albus. “I guess I will ask him more about it later… Once I find him, that is,” Lily shrugged.

The four friends marched off towards the Great Hall. Lily temporarily wiped her brother from her mind and focused fully on telling her friends all the great things she did and saw in Africa.

Lily went to bed that day without seeing Albus or Scorpius even once.

……..

Lily woke the next morning with a mission to find her brother. As she got ready, she looked out the window to find that the rain had stopped over night and the sun was trying its best to break apart the clouds. She ran down to the Great Hall and joined her three friends at the Ravenclaw table. The four talked about their plans for the day. They had all agreed to help Lily seek out Albus. 

After breakfast, Lily and Norma scouted around the grounds in hopes to find Scorpius and Albus lounging around the lake. They had come up empty handed. 

Next, Lily checked the classrooms with Sandra to see if maybe they were catching up on work, but they were nowhere to be seen.

After checking every last classroom, Lily waited outside the Slytherin common room as Mary looked around for them.

“It seems they haven’t been back since this morning,” Mary said with an apologetic shrug.

Lily had finally decided to camp out for her brother in the library. She knew Scorpius would eventually drag Albus this way. Lily could not help but feel a little upset that her brother would not come and see her after she had been gone for so long. She had been certain that Albus enjoyed her company. Perhaps she was wrong.

Lily sat in the library for what felt like decades before giving up. Her friends had come by a few times, telling her they had not seen her brother or Scorpius anywhere besides the Slytherin common room in the morning. It was now almost sunset. She had wasted her whole Sunday for nothing. It astounded her that they had not shown up. Scorpius went to the library at least twice a day. Where could they possibly be?

In an annoyed huff, Lily marched out of the the library. Blinded by frustration, she was caught off guard as she rounded the corner and ran head first into someone. Lily stepped back as she ricocheted off of the other person.  

“Sorry,” Lily mumbled.

“Watch where you’re going!” snapped a familiar voice.

Lily looked up at the individual to find none other than Scorpius glaring right at her. Behind him was Albus, looking a bit spaced out.

“Scorpius?” Lily questioned in disbelief. She had never seen such a snobby, angry expression on the boy’s face. She imagined this was what Scorpius’s father must have looked like as a child

Scorpius glared at her for a moment before seeming to catch himself. He looked away, almost flustered, and when he looked back at Lily his expression was much softer. Perhaps Lily was just seeing things.

“Oh… Um… Sorry,” Scorpius said apologetically. He was now looking a little too submissive.

Lily brushed off the odd feeling and turned her attention to her brother.

“Albus Severus Potter! I have been looking for you all day long!” Lily snapped with a fire similar to her grandmother's.

Albus looked utterly surprised by this. Like he had not expected Lily to address him at all. All that came out of his mouth was a lame ‘Ummmm’. Lily watched in utter confusion as the two boys looked at each other for a long moment. Almost as if they had no clue who she was.

“Oh! Lily!” Albus gasped, almost as if he had suddenly remembered something he had long since forgotten.

Lily raised an eyebrow, unsure how to interpret this conversation.

“Where were you yesterday? Dad said you would be at the entrance to welcome me back,” Lily said, half angry and half hurt.

“Oh, yeah, right…. I …Uh…. Guess I forgot,” Albus shrugged.

“You forgot!?” Lily snapped. She put her hands to her hip and looked at her brother. She had not noticed it at first, but he looked exhausted. “Are you okay?” she asked, her tone much softer now.

“Y-Yeah,” Albus said as he rubbed his face. “Just tired is all.”

“We have been helping prepare for the ball next week. It has been really busy,” Scorpius added.

“I… I’m really sorry, Lily,” Albus apologised yet again. “I guess time just got away from me.”

Lily could not be upset with Albus, seeing how tired he was.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy to see you now,” Lily said as she went in for a hug.

The hug was very awkward. Like Albus had reverted back to his 4th year self. Perhaps it was a product of his exhaustion.

Lily then turned to Scorpius. She reached her hand out and held it at an odd angle. Ready to initiate their secret handshake.

Scorpius looked from Lily’s hand to Lily, his nose slightly scrunched.

“Um… What are you doing?” Scorpius asked flatly.

“Our handshake. You know…. The handshake we made up last year,” Lily replied, trying to keep her tone positive. 

“How childish…. I don’t do those anymore,” Scorpius scoffed. He rolled his eyes as he spoke.

Lily stood in shock. She had never heard Scorpius talk to anyone like this. He had always been so enthusiastic about the silly things they would do.

“Excuse me?” Lily tried her best not to sound too offended. “It was your idea to make a secret handshake, remember?” Lily grumbled as her hand returned to her side.

Scorpius just looked at her in silence. “I guess I just grew out of it while you were away,” he replied coolly.

Lily felt a wave of betrayal sweep over her. How could he be saying this?

“Anyway, we are both very tired and have so much to do in preparation…” Scorpius started to say.

“Dad said I am helping out with the preparation for the party too,” Lily interjected.

“Lily, you really don’t —” Albus started.

“No, this is a celebration regarding our Dad so you have to let me help if I want to,” Lily insisted stubbornly. She was not going to let the two get away with it this easily. They were acting far too strange for her to just turn a blind eye.

“Lily,” Albus huffed, as he seemed to look around for an excuse as if it would just appear on the wall.

Lily pulled out her final trump card, one she didn’t really like using on Albus and had not had to use in ages. “I will tell Mum and Dad if you don’t let me help you,” she gumbled. She knew Albus still hated dealing with Dad, despite them being on better terms.

Scorpius shot Albus a worried glance. Albus shifted uncomfortably, as if he had no clue how to handle the current situation. Lily lifted an eyebrow yet again, challenging them to oppose her.

“Fine,” Scorpius sighed, as if it were his decision to make. Lily found it very strange how much talking Scorpius was doing. Normally Scorpius was easy to get along with.

“Yeah, I guess you have the right to help,” Albus nodded, and looked to Scorpius for confirmation.

“When will we meet tomorrow to get started?” Lily asked, unable to hide her smile.

“How about after dinner before we have to go back to our common rooms. That’s when we have been getting together to prepare,” Scorpius replied. It was obvious Scorpius was not thrilled to be including Lily.

It hurt her to see this. She was almost certain Scorpius liked her.

“Okay. Where should we meet?” Lily inquired, trying to ignore Scorpius's less than inviting attitude.

“The library,” Scorpius said curtly.

Lily looked to Albus to see if he had anything to say. He looked back at her as if nothing odd was happening at the moment.

“Anyway,” Scorpius hummed as he looped his arm through Albus’s and rested his head on Albus’s shoulder. “We are very tired and in need of some rest.” He looked at Lily with very calculating gray eyes.

Lily choked on whatever she was going to say at the sight of this. She always had the inkling that her brother and Scorpius were much closer than your average best friends, but something about what she was seeing now rubbed her the wrong way.

“Goodnight, Lily,” Albus smiled. It was almost like he did not notice Scorpius hanging off of him.

“Um… Yeah see you tomorrow,” Lily murmured. She was still too stunned to react.

With that, Scorpius led Albus down the hall and around the corner.

Lily stood silently in the hallway, watching where she had just seen Scorpius and Albus disappear.

“What the…” she mumbled under her breath as she turned and headed to the Great Hall. Lily walked in a daze as her mind went over the conversation she just had.

She entered the Great Hall and took a seat at the Gryffindor table and began to mindlessly munch on some chicken. She did not talk to anyone as she ate. It wasn’t until she was halfway done with her meal that she realized the two had gone to bed without dinner.

……..

Lily was now lying in bed, looking up through the dark at the roof of her four poster bed. She had gotten over the initial shock and was now dowsed in frustration. What had gotten into the two of them? Scorpius was far too snarky and Albus barely said a word. Something had happened to those two. They were not acting normal in the least.

Perhaps it was just exhaustion causing them to act this way. Lily took a deep breath and released it slowly to help calm herself. Yes, she was overreacting. Tomorrow the two will definitely be back to normal, especially now that she was here to help with the preparations for the ball and could take some of the stress of their shoulders. With that, Lily rolled over and slowly drifted off to sleep.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! Chapter two is up like I promised. I hope you enjoy this exciting chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it.

The next day, Lily woke feeling slightly groggy. Her mind had been racing with so many thoughts that she had a hard time shutting down her brain to sleep. She tried her best to shake off her drowsiness as she prepared for her first day back at Hogwarts. She had almost forgotten to check over her schedule for her first week back before going to bed. The thoughts of her brother racing through her mind overtook any other thing she should have been thinking about. The more she thought about it, the more concerned she was about the two boys’ behavior yesterday.

After her morning routine, Lily made her way to the Great Hall and sat with her three friends, this time at the Hufflepuff table.

“Where were you last night? We didn’t see you at dinner,” Norma asked when Lily took a seat across from her.

“Oh yeah, I was a little late to dinner, sorry,” Lily sighed as she tried to focus on what her friends were saying.

“Are you okay, Lily? You look like you didn’t get much sleep,” Mary asked softly in concern.

Lily looked at her three worried friends. She took a big intake of breath before slapping her hands to her cheeks in an attempt to shake herself out of her thoughts.

“Actually something strange did happen yesterday,” Lily stated seriously.

Her friends’ expressions went from worried to interested. Lily looked around at each of them.

“I found my brother and Scorpius last night!” Lily expression was stern. 

The three girls let loose a collective ‘Oh~’.

“Was he happy to see you?” Sandra asked.

“Well…” Lily sighed as she deflated a little. “He was acting strange…”

“Stange? How so?” Mary gasped.

“He….” Lily searched for the correct words to describe what had happened last night. “Well, he was very... I don’t know, out of it? Like he was not all there in that moment,” she explained lamely.

Her three friends exchanged looks, all not quite sure what to say.

“And Scorpius… he was just…. kind of mean,” Lily carried on. “He… It was like he didn’t want me around.”

“Well, maybe they were tired?” Norma squeaked, hoping this would lift Lily’s spirits.

“Scorpius would never… I have never seen or heard of him behaving like he did last night. You guys have hung around him. He is always so… so friendly,” Lily insisted. Exhaustion would not change a person's personality so drastically. “And my brother. He seemed so empty. So unaware of what was going on around him,” Lily’s tone became more worried when talking about her brother. She always half worried that Albus might do something drastic like he had done in his 4th year.

The three other girls looked to each other once again, trying to figure out how to comfort Lily. 

“And they didn’t even want me to help out with preparations for the celebration,” Lily carried on. “I had to pull a parent card on them to get them to even consider letting me join in,” her voice was now a whimper.

“Oh, Lily, I am sure they didn’t mean to come across as they did last night,” Sandra said as she put a comforting arm around her friend.

“Yeah, your brother and Scorpius are usually quite delightful to be around. Maybe they were just having a bad day or something,” Mary added. She reached her hand across the table and placed it on Lily’s.

“Yeah….” Lily said, still unconvinced. “I just don’t know what to do if they are still like that tonight when I meet them to help out with the preparations.”

Her three friends all nodded at each other, all agreeing silently.

“Well, we can go with you and help out as well,” Norma declared.

“Yeah, we can back you up if they try to push you out,” Sandra added.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Mary hummed.

Lily huffed a happy sigh as she looked to her three best friends. “Thanks,” she said with a grateful smile. What would she do without these three.

……..

Later that evening, after finishing up dinner, Lily and her three friends made their way to the library. They gathered around a large table near the entrance so Albus and Scorpius could not miss them. Only a few minutes after they settled down did the two boys appear.

“Hey, Lily,” Albus greeted as he headed over to the table.

Scorpius was not far behind and looked surprised to see so many others with Lily.

“Albus! How are you feeling today?” Lily asked with worry.

“Just fine! Why would you ask?” Albus replied with a smile.

Before Lily could reply Scorpius butted in.

“I thought just you were going to be helping out with preparations,” Scorpius said coolly. His expression was very calculating.

“Well, since Albus was getting help from his friends,” Lily said in reference to Scorpius, “I thought it would only be fair if my friends also helped out.”

“Yeah! We are great helpers,” Norma chimed in.

“Oh, yes,” Scorpius said with a smile. “Yes, the more the merrier.”

Albus just smiled, not giving too much of an opinion. Lily took note of it.

“I have something very important all of you could help us out with,” Scorpius cheered with the shake of his wand.

Suddenly, several crates of colorful tissue paper appeared on the table. The four girls jumped in surprise with the sudden appearance. They all then looked to Albus and Scorpius for explanation.

“I need you ladies to help make the decorations,” Scorpius scooped up a piece of blue paper and a green paper. With a shake of his wand they scrunched together to create a paper carnation.

“Paper flowers?” Lily inquired.

“2000 by the end of the week,” Scorpius said with a nod. “500 blue and green, 500 pink and purple, 500 yellow and orange and 500 white and gold,” he explained.

Lily could not help but think this seemed kind of cheep. Hogwarts events were normally littered with extravagant decor, not cheap, handmade, paper puffballs. She shook the thought from her mind and moved aside to make room for her brother and Scorpius.

“Well, shall we get started,”Lily asked as she motioned for Albus to sit next to her.

Albus made to sit before Scorpius stopped him.

“We have other things to do… We still need to contact the entertainment and prepare for the dueling competition that will be held at the party,” Scorpius explained.

Albus almost robotically stepped away from the table and back beside Scorpius.

Lily looked up from her paper carnation as Albus moved away. “Well, if you help us here now then we can also help you with that later. I haven’t had a moment to catch up with you two since getting back from Africa,” Lily whined.

“Sorry, Lily, but can’t. Important things to do,” Albus said with a shrug.

“Maybe if we finish early we can help you ladies out,” Scorpius said with an overly sweet smile.

“Oh that would be great,” Mary replied with a much more natural smile, not taking notice of anything strange. 

“We will definitely get this done with more than enough time to spare! I just know it,” Norma chimed in cheerfully.

“Oh that would be wonderful,” Scorpius said as his sweet smile grew, although Lily felt it never quite met his eyes.

Before any more could be said, Scorpius looped his arm through Albus’s and they both left the library.

Lily watched the two leave, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Something was definitely up. When she turned her attention back to her friends she was surprised to see they had already begun working. None of them seemed to be aware of the two boys’ strange behavior.

Lily reluctantly magicked some paper into a flower without using a wand. With her mind still on her brother, she powered through 20 flowers. The three other girls chatted idly about their day as they worked.

“Did something happen while I was away?” Lily asked, not really paying much attention to the conversation the others were having.

The three other girls stopped talking and exchanged looks.

“Beside the announcement of this event, everything has been the same as always,” Norma shrugged.

“There was that scuffle last week between a first year Ravenclaw and second year Hufflepuff. I think they were both interested in the same third year… can’t remember who the lucky girl was,” Sandra hummed as she worked.

“Oh yeah, the Ravenclaw boy hexed the other kid’s face to have a pig nose. It was kind of funny, but to be shown up by a first year! That must have been mortifying,” Mary said with a shiver.

“I saw the Hufflepuff boy, I think his name was Jim or something, when he was on his way to Madam Pomfrey’s. His pig nose was so gross. It was so funny,” Norma chuckled.

“So nothing out of the ordinary has happened?” Lily said, not quite ready to drop the subject.

The other three went silent. All trying hard to think of anything out of the ordinary happening.

“Mary, how about the Slytherin dorms? Are they the same as always?” Lily asked desperately.

“N-no. I mean… I have not noticed anything out of the ordinary…” Mary replied apologetically.

“Hey, tell you what, we will ask around our dorms to see if maybe anyone else has notice a disturbance in the force,” Norma suggested.

Lily thought for a moment before replying. “Yeah, if that’s not too much of a problem,” she said with a nod.

“Don’t worry. We have your back,” Sandra vowed.

Lily smiled at her three friends. She knew something was up and she was going to get to the bottom of it. For a moment she thought of asking her parents, but decided against it. If she got Dad involved Albus would never forgive her.

…….. 

Tuesday and Wednesday passed exactly the same as Monday. Scorpius and Albus would meet them for mere minutes every evening before running off to go who knows where to make preparations for who knows what. First it was entertainment, then it was ordering the correct amount of food from the house elves. Lily could not wait for what their Thursday excuse would be. 

To make matters more frustrating, it seemed not a single other student noticed a difference in the school. Lily and the others had asked around their respective dorms and every student they spoke to seemed content with their day-to-day lives. She had even approached Rose with her worries. Rose had shrugged it off as one of Alubs’s Albusy moments and to give him some space. Lily could not help but wonder if she was going crazy.

At the moment, Lily was making her way to the library. The other girls all had personal things to get done before meeting in the library to fold more damn flowers. As Lily entered the library she was met by an angry shout coming from none other than Scorpius.

“These flowers here are pink and green!” Scorpius snapped as he threw an off color flower at a very startled Mary.

“I… I’m… I...” Mary stuttered in fear.

“This is not what I asked for! Now we have to redo all of these in this box here! I thought you had said you would get these done in no time! Now I need to order more paper,” Scorpius shrieked, kicking the box full of offending flowers.

Mary looked as if her soul had left her body.

Lily felt anger boil in the pit of her stomach. How dare Scorpius yell at Mary in such a violent way! They had all taken time out of their busy lives to help them prepare for this event, and here he was having a petty bitch fit in the library over paper flower colors. Perhaps Lily had been wrong about the young Malfoy.

“What was that?!” Lily inquired as she stormed over to the three. Mary was still too shaken to reply.

Scorpius shot around and turned on Lily. His lip curled as he seemed to analyze his next move.

“Whoah. Calm down, Scorpius. Everything will be just fine,” Albus assured as he sauntered out from behind a bookshelf. He wrapped his arm around his best friend. “Lily, did you see that?” Albus asked in concern.

“Yeah, I sure did,” Lily snapped. “You have no right talking to any of us like that,” she seethed as she turned her attention to Scorpius.

Scorpius shrank away from the burn in her tone. He stuttered over his words for a moment.

“Come on, Lily,” Albus sighed.

“Really, Albus?” Lily huffed in utter disbelief. 

“You know we are under a lot of stress and with the deadline —” Albus began, but was cut off before he could finish. 

“No! No, she is right, Albus… that was uncalled for,” Scorpius admitted with a sigh. “I… Sorry for shouting, Mary,” Scorpius sighed as he rubbed his temples.

“N-no… we should have payed more attention when making these,” Mary stuttered a reply.

“And sorry you had to see that, Lily,” Scorpius added, still rubbing his temples in what looked like exhaustion.

“Well…. Just don’t do it again,” Lily mumbled.

“See, all is well,” Albus assured. “And I don’t think anyone is going to notice these flowers being slightly different. We will just stick them in a corner or something.”

“Yeah… Yes, I suppose we can do that,” Scorpius said as he finally stopped rubbing his temples. 

“You know, if you need a hand with anything else we can help you with more than just these flowers,” Lily suggested.

Scorpius let loose a humph at that. “Yeah, I guess we may need a few more hands on our end,” he admitted. “You know what, as an apology for shouting at you, Mary, why don’t you give me and Albus a hand tonight?”

Mary all but stuttered at this. She was fully aware how much Lily wanted to be with her brother. She desperately wanted to decline the invite but the words just wouldn't come out.

“Great! Lily can get started on the flowers,” Scorpius said, looking at the table they had taken over since Monday. “And we can head on down to the the kitchen and finish up food preparations,” he finished as he began to lead Mary out of the library.

“Albus!” Lily demanded, unable to get much more out. Was Scorpius doing this on purpose – trying to make sure Lily and Albus didn't spend any time together?

“Sorry, Lily,” Albus shrugged as he followed after his best friend.

It took everything Lily had not to cry. She felt hurt and rejected. Like Scorpius and Albus had slapped her across the face. Is this really how it was going to be? How dare Scorpius turn on her like this. Had she been a fool to believe in a Malfoy like that? Uncle Ron had always insisted that Scorpius would eventually take after his father and grandfather. That it was only a matter of time. She always thought he was joking but could he have been correct in saying that?

Lily slumped down heavily in a seat at the table. All these negative thoughts stormed in her mind. She wanted so badly to call Scorpius out on what he was doing, but Albus was alway so sensitive when it came to his best friend. If she so much as even implied that Scorpius was evil she would never have a chance at getting close to Albus again – that is, unless she had proof. 

But she had no proof.

……..

Lily had made it a point to tail her brother the best she could the next day. She went to her morning classes but for her afternoon classes she skipped her Care of Magical Creatures and Divination in lieu of seeing if Scorpius was acting out of character any other time of the day.

She hid in a small cupboard during their History lesson, and in a broom closet during Potions. If anyone found out she was this obsessed they would think she was out of her mind. She was surprised to see that Albus and Scorpius talked to no one during their afternoon classes, not even each other. Scorpius didn’t answer a single question, he didn’t even look like he was paying attention in class. Albus jotted down notes like a robot. It looked like he wrote down every word the teacher was saying.

After their Potions class, the two boys headed to the Slytherin dorm. Lily followed close after, watching their every move. To her surprise, something very out of the ordinary happened. She ducked behind a corner as she watched the two boys who were currently alone.

“S-Scorpius?” Albus suddenly moaned as he fell against a wall. 

“P-Potter?” Scorpius replied sharply. 

Albus looked up to Scorpius, his body shook with random tremors. He looked horrified “Y-you… Your—” he mumbled incoherently.

“No! Not now! Not yet. It’s too soon,” Scorpius said sternly as he lifted his wand to Albus's right temple. He mumbled something under his breath and his wand began to glow.

“No! No, stop! I have to...” Albus pleaded in what sounded like a very pained, desperate voice. Suddenly, Albus blinked a few times and stood up straight.

Scorpius examined Albus for a short moment before giving a curt nod. With that, the two boys linked arms and carried on down to the Slytherin dorms.

Lily sat frozen in her hiding spot. What had she just seen? Was that a memory charm of some sort? Was he messing with Albus’s mind? What had Scorpius done to her brother? She felt the desperate need to scream. After a few moments of erratic breathing, Lily made her way back to the Great Hall. Her appetite was non-existent. She swiped a few rolls from the Gryffindor table, in case that changed later, and then headed straight to her dorm. Her mind was racing. She didn't know what to do. She didn’t know what to say. But she had to tell someone. She had to reveal Scorpius for what he truly was, a mind-manipulating monster. She finally had her proof.

It was only after she had flopped down on her bed and screamed into her pillow that she noticed the letter that had been lying on her side desk. She shook the confusion from her mind as she opened the letter.

Dear Lily,

Your brother wanted me to tell you that we will be meeting in the Great Hall at around 10 o'clock tonight to help go over last minute necessities needed for tomorrow's party. Please don’t be late.

Your best friend,

Norma

Lily folded the letter and set it by her desk. Yes! Tonight she would reveal Scorpius for what he truly was. It was probably best she do it with witnesses in case Scorpius tried something on her. She looked at the clock in the room. It read 6 o'clock. She had several hours until 10. She tried her best to calm her mind, so as to not babble like an idiot come tonight. She needed to get it together. She needed to save and protect Albus.

……..

Lily arrived at the Great Hall just before 10 o'clock. As she entered the room, she was surprised to see that almost everyone else was there, but Albus and Scorpius seemed to be running late. There were a few house elves off in a corner, her friends were all talking around a box of paper flowers and a tall man with a guitar was standing off to the side. The next thing Lily noticed was her father, Harry, talking with Professor McGonagall. She strode over to her dad, wanting nothing more than a hug from the man.

“According to the schedule, at midnight tomorrow you and Albus will start off the celebration with a speech that will then be followed by the dueling competition,” Professor McGonagall explained as she and Harry examined a sheet of paper.

“And then, after the winner of the competition is decided, I will award them with their prize,” Harry confirmed as he ran his finger down the list on the paper.

“It would seem so,” Professor McGonagall replied.

“Alright, I think I got it,” Harry said as he took the paper from Professor McGonagall. 

With that, Professor McGonagall went over to a few house elves that Lily assumed were there for the catering.

“Dad,” Lily cheered as she tackled Harry with a big hug.

“Oh, Lily! How is my favorite daughter doing?” Harry replied fondly as he returned the warm hug.

Lily felt all her pent up stress slowly subside as she tightened her hold on her dad.

“It’s been kind of stressful to be honest,” she mumbled into her dad’s chest.

“Is everything alright?” Harry asked as he rubbed a circle on his daughter's back.

Lily pulled away and looked up at her father. “Actually, there is something I have been wondering,” she replied.

Harry lifted an eyebrow wondering what his daughter had to say.

“I have been wondering, you usually like to spend the night of grandma and grandpa's death at home, why did you decide to put on this event?” Lily asked.

Harry seemed a little surprised by the question. “It wasn’t my idea. Didn’t Albus tell you he was the one who wanted to put on this event?” Harry inquired.

“This was all Albus’s idea?” Lily stuttered in shock. She knew that Albus would never want to do something like this on his own, but she had an idea who might be behind this.

“He insisted we do this as father and son, so I agreed,” Harry confirmed, with what looked like hope in his green eyes.

Lily silently considered what her father was saying. She had to reveal Scorpius for what he was. Not only was that snake controlling her brother but he had the gall to mess with her father's emotions.

Just then, Albus and Scorpius entered the Great Hall. They were walking arm in arm like a sweet couple taking a stroll through a flowery park. Lily always thought this sight would please her, but now all it did was fill her stomach with knots. The two made their way to where Professor McGonagall was currently talking to the man with the guitar, whom Lily assumed was the entertainment. 

With much conviction, Lily made her way to the front of the Great Hall and stood in front of the pedestal from which the teachers would often make announcements. She looked around the room only to see that Harry was the only one to take notice of her actions. Pointing her finger to her throat, Lily silently casted a voice amplifying charm. Her voice echoed through the Great Hall as she cleared it, winning her everyone’s undivided attention.

“I have something to say,” Lily started.

No one in the hall said a word as they looked at her in confusion.

“Someone in this room has been deceiving us all. Someone in this room is not telling the truth,” Lily went on.

A small murmur filled the room as the others exchanged very baffled looks. Lily’s friends seemed to have an idea what this was about and all looked very nervous.

Lily felt a lump gather in her throat as she fought to find the will to carry on. She had to do this.

“Scorpius Malfoy has been deceiving us this whole time,” Lily accused as she pointed at the very shocked boy. “He has been snapping at everyone left and right.”

“L-Lily?” Albus demanded as he wrapped a protective arm around Scorpius, who looked hurt.

“E-ever since I came back from Africa, Scorpius has been keeping Albus to himself and snapping at anyone who tries to get close,” Lily carried on, trying to ignore Scorpius’s hurt look.

“I-I…” Scorpius began to sob.

“Lily what is the meaning of this?” Harry asked. His gaze was stern.

“Dad! Scorpius has been casting memory charms, or, or something on Albus! I saw them today alone in the hallway,” Lily began to explain desperately.

“I-I would never do such a thing,” Scorpius began to sob.

“Lily! You know we have been over this!” Harry warned.

“But Dad! I saw him! I saw them this evening. Albus almost passed out in the hall saying ‘No! Stop!’ as Scorpius casted a spell on him!” Lily practically shouted in defence.

A few gasps could be heard around the room, mixed with a few sobs from Scorpius.

“Lily Luna Potter, you’d better not say another word!” Harry warned yet again.

“Dad! He is evil! He is doing something to Albus—” Lily was practically pleading.

“Lily, he has not been casting mind spells on me,” Albus cut Lily off before she could say more. “The ‘mind spell’ you saw was merely a spell used to subside headaches,” Albus explained as he glared daggers at his little sister.

“H-headache?” Lily mumbled.

“I would never hurt Albus like that,” Scorpius blubbered.

“But! But Albus you- you told him to stop you—” Lilly stuttered in her defence.

“Lily, I think you have said just about enough,” Harry said sternly. Lily could tell her father was quite upset. Ever since the incident two years ago, Harry, too, was a little defensive of those who accused Scorpius of being evil.

“But Dad! I know what I saw!” Lily pleaded. She looked around the room to be met by an array of disapproving looks. Even her friends looked disappointed in her.

“Maybe you should just go,” Albus snapped. His glare was the fiercest of them all, and left Lily feeling burnt inside.

“Albus…. I—” Lily whimpered.

“No! I don’t want to hear it, Lily,” Albus spat. “You know Scorpius would never, ever do anything to hurt anyone! How could you! I trusted you! Just go.” 

Lily looked around the room to find no one seemed to disagree with her brother. Lily felt tears gather at the edge of her eyes. How could this be?

Canceling the voice amplifying spell, Lily let loose a pained whimper as she ran out of the Great Hall. She ran up the stairs leading to her dorm but stopped half way to let loose a heartfelt sob. How could she have been so blind? She felt awful for what she had just done. She was so certain something was amiss. Perhaps she was just jealous of Scorpius getting all of Albus’s attention. She stood silently on the stairs as the candles on the wall bathed her with an orange glow. All other students were up in the dorms, so the castle felt empty. Shame started to settle in as she slowly made her way up the flight of stairs.

As Lily reached the top of the flight of stairs, the candles in the area went out all at once, bathing her in darkness. The only light to be seen was from the half moon that shone through the windows.

Lily fumbled in her pocket for her wanted and whispered “Lumos” before carefully carrying on down the hall. She had only taken a few steps when she noticed a silhouette of a person standing beside the next window.

“H-Hello?” Lily greeted cautiously. For some reason, she felt a sudden wave of fear.

“Oh, Lily, you just couldn’t let it go, could you?” came the all too familiar voice of Scorpius Malfoy. The boy stepped into the light of the moon. His hair glowed silver in the moonlight, his gray eyes shone with confidence and a wicked toothy smile was painted across his pale face.

“S-Scorpius?” Lily gasped. She took a step back as she tried to keep her cool.

“You just had to go and meddle, didn’t you,” Scorpius seethed as he began to pace slowly in front of Lily. “I was going to let you go free, but today was way too close,” Scorpius carried on with a cold laugh.

Lily tried to find her voice, unsure if she should turn and run or confront the boy.

“But I can’t have you poking your nose around when I am so close to my actual goal.” Scorpius’s smile faded to a scowl and his eyes shone with murder.

“I- I knew it! I won’t let you get away with this! I won’t let you hurt Albus,” Lily tried to spit threateningly but failed.

“I am going to have to remove you from the situation. I hope you understand. No hard feelings, right?” Scorpius mocked apologetically.

Lily felt the sudden urgency to get away. She turned to run back down to the Great Hall but, to her horror, she was blocked by tall purple flames. A gasp of horror escaped from ther throat.

“Sorry, Lily, but I can’t have you squealing to anyone else,” Scorpius laughed wickedly.

Lily turned around to see that she was surrounded by the flames. Her mind was racing with fear. She was certain she was going to die. Before she could react, the magic fire rushed towards her from all sides. Lily let out a terrified shriek as the purple flames engulfed her. In a matter of seconds, the fire was extinguished, along with Lily.

“Good riddance,” Scorpius scoffed coldly as he made his way back down to the Great Hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right! Chapter two is over! What could possibly be going on!? Is that really Scorpius? Is Lily dead? What about Albus!!!! Who is going to save Albus? Oh gosh! So many questions! SO MANY QUESTIONS! And there is only one way to find out the answers and that is to….. Stay tuned for chapter 3! YAY!
> 
> Chapter 3 should be up by next weekend. It is still in the middle of proofreading so as long as time allows I should have it up by Sunday at the latest. Also I live in America so when I say Sunday I mean America’s Sunday so that could be Monday for those of you on the other side of the world. 
> 
> I would like to thank my beta reader, Just_a_fangirl, for helping me out with making sure things made sense in this chapter!!! If yall have time then hop on over to her page and check out her work too!
> 
> I want to thank everyone who has left Kudos on this story. I really appreciate it and it fill me with excitement to post more and more and more stuff. I really hope you all hang around to read the rest of this silly story of mine.
> 
> If you have a moment please do leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter. I love hearing my readers feedback and suspicions.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we goooo! Chapter 3 is up and ready just for you! Yes you! The one reading this right here and now! I put it up tonight just for you! I hope you enjoy it and I hope it helps those who might be worried.   
> Also I should have mentioned in the first chapter but I do not own Harry Potter or anything like that. You know!   
> Anywho, please read and enjoy!

As the Beast lay bleeding to death, he reached one clawed hand up and stoked the face of the beautiful Belle. 

“You came back,” he whispered in a gruff voice. His blue eyes were full of love for the woman before him.

“Of course I did,” Belle whispered as she tried her best to comfort the dying beast.

“Belle...” But before the Beast could say any more, his body ceased before laying limp in the young girl's arms.

“No! No!” Belle cried as she held the beast close. “I loved him,” she sobbed. She looked down at the beast she had grown to love and placed a tender kiss on his lips.

Suddenly, the Beast rose into the air and glowed with a pure white light. He began to transform and, when the light faded, where the beast had been stood a handsome prince.

Belle gasped at the sight of this strange man.

“Belle, it’s me, the Beast,” the man insisted.

Belle reached up and wiped the hair from the man’s face to see the eyes of the Beast she had fallen in love with.

“It is you,” Belle gasped, as she leapt into the prince’s arms.

“True love must have broken the curse,” said a kind old lady who had once been the tea pot.

And with that they live happily ever after.

“Okay, Scorpius, it is time for you to go to sleep,” Astoria said as she tucked her 8 year old son into bed for the night.

“But Mum, can’t you read me just one more story?” Scorpius pleaded with big puppy-dog eyes.

“That won’t work on me this time, mister,” Astoria chuckled, as she booped her son on the nose.

“But I love it when you read to me,” Scorpius mumbled, puffing out his cheeks in a pout.

“Now, Scorpius, you know we have to be up early tomorrow,” Astoria said as she tucked in her beloved.

“Hey, Mum?” Scorpius sighed as he contemplated the story he had just heard.

Astoria hummed in response as she placed the old Muggle story book she had just read from on the side table.

“Can love really break spells like that?” Scorpius asked in wide-eyed wonder.

“A strong enough love can do anything,” Astoria insisted before placing a tender kiss on Scorpius’s forehead.

“Really?” Scorpius gasped as he imagined what ‘anything’ encompassed.

“Yes, my son, anything,” Astoria replied as she stroked Scorpius's soft blond hair. “If you want, I can read you another story where love conquers tomorrow night, too.”

“Really? There are more stories like this?” Scorpius wiggled with excitement under his covers as he spoke.

“Of course, but I will only read them if you go to sleep now,” Astoria softly replied.

“Sleep, right!” Scorpius nodded as he shut his eyes tightly.

Astoria laughed softly as she admired her dear son. She then headed to the door.

“Hey, Mum,” squeaked Scorpius from his bed.

“Yes?” Astoria replied, stopping before exiting the room.

“Don’t close the door all the way,” Scorpius whimpered.

“Okay, son,” Astoria replied with a small smile. 

“And, Mum,” Scorpius came again.

“Yes,” Astoria replied quietly from the door.

“I love you, Mum,” Scorpius whispered.

“I love you too, Scorpius,” Astoria hummed before fully exiting the room, leaving the door ever so slightly open.

…….. 

Scorpius and Albus walked shoulder to shoulder as they made their way from the Slytherin dorm to the Great Hall. Scorpius jabbered on in excitement about where he wanted to go this afternoon while in Hogsmeade. Albus smiled contently, enjoying the joyous chatter of his best friend.

“We have to go to Honeydukes! It’s the first week of October so hopefully they still have their special Halloween themed candy,” Scorpius sang as his eyes glowed with the thought of the seasonal candy.

“I wonder if they will have that fizzy black cat drink they had last year,” Albus hummed.

“You mean the one you gave me that makes you grow cat ears and a tail for 24 hours?” Scorpius questioned dryly, remembering having to march around school as a cat boy for a whole day. “That was from Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, remember?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Albus lied. “Uncle Ron gave me that one,” he added as he let loose a chuckle. His green eyes filled with a glint of mischief.

“Don’t even think about it, Albus. That was so embarrassing,” Scorpius scolded, putting a stop to the idea before it could fully bloom.

“Awww come on. You were so cute,” Albus cooed as he bumped shoulders with his best friend. “You even purred when I pet you behind the ear.”

“Albus!” Scorpius squeaked as his cheeks went bright red. His mind filled with the memory of how happy he had been when Albus had pet him that day.

A large grin grew upon Albus's face at the sight of his best friend’s blush. He had grown to love a flustered Scorpius, especially when he was the one causing the blushing.

“I was coughing up hairballs for days,” Scorpius whined, as he shook the thought of his best friend giving him a head massage from his mind. 

Albus merely chuckled.

The two entered the Great Hall and headed to the Slytherin table. They were greeted by a few people wishing them a good morning as they made to sit next to each other. Ever since their fourth year, the two had found it much easier making friends. The story of their time-turning adventure had spread like wildfire through school, and many students who originally would not have given them the time of day had started talking with them to find out what rumors were true. Once students started giving the two a chance, they found that Albus and Scorpius were not so bad to hang around. Despite their increase of friends, Albus and Scorpius were still attached at the hip. They would often step away for best friend alone time throughout the week.

“So, your sister should be coming back from Africa soon, right?” asked a tawny-haired fifth-year Ravenclaw named Drake. He had slipped in and taken a seat across from Albus and Scorpius the moment they had sat down.

Scorpius gave a small jump at the sudden appearance, and Albus lifted an eyebrow. Albus knew this kid had a thing for his little sister. He didn’t want to get involved in Lily's love life, but he also didn’t want her getting involved with scum.

“Yeah, I think she will be back the last week of this month,” Scorpius replied. He knew Albus did not like this particular student too much.

“Humm, I see. That long, huh? Longer than I expected,” Drake hummed, more to himself than to Albus and Scorpius.

Albus lifted a brow ready to jump this guy if he said anything about his sister that didn’t sit right.

“Thanks,” Drake said as he stood up and walked off without another word.

“What an arse,” Albus hissed. He made note to keep tabs on this kid.

“I’m pretty sure he runs through girls like blast-ended Skrewts run though wooden crates,” Scorpius mumbled, unimpressed. 

Albus laughed and shook his head. “I think blast-ended skrewts would be much better company,” Albus added.

Scorpius snickered in agreement. 

The two carried on in a joking manner for the rest of breakfast. A few friends would stop by to exchange pleasantries with the boys but none hung around too long. Once done with breakfast, Scorpius and Albus parted ways with plans to meet back up when it came time to head off to Hogsmeade. Scorpius wanted to run to the library before leaving and Albus wanted to take a quick nap, knowing if he didn’t he would run out of energy mid-day.

……..

Scorpius had just passed through the small collection of Muggle book in the library. He had taken some time to look at old love stories his mother had read him as a kid to try and calm his mind. Saying he needed to come to the library had been a lie. He just needed a moment to himself to clear his mind. Though remembering his mother was often painful, in the past few years he had learned to take comfort from the lessons she had taught him as a child. It had always helped him calm himself and stay true to who he is. 

For a while, Scorpius had been having an intense internal battle, but recently he had discovered who he really was and had to come clean. He had decided that he could not keep his secret from Albus anymore.

Scorpius was head over heels for his best friend. Every time Albus so much as brushed sides with him, Scorpius’s heart would almost leap out of his chest. Scorpius had only become aware of his feeling for Albus after the cat ear fiasco. Since then, Scorpius had had recurring dreams of Albus embracing him and Scorpius embracing Albus back. 

At first, Scorpius would ignore these feelings, blaming them on nothing more than his attempt to get over Rose when she started dating that fifth-year Gryffindor two years ago. At first, Scorpius had not noticed it, but he realized that when he was infatuated with Rose he had never had such lustful feelings. He came to realize he admired Rose, but his feeling were nothing more that.

The feelings he had for Albus now were more pure and primal. A lust that had always been there, that he had never noticed at first. But it was more than just that. He truly and purely loved Albus. Albus’s joy was Scorpius’s joy. When Albus was upset, Scorpius wanted nothing more than to make him smile. He shared every burden Albus bore without a hint of resentment. Any time he was not with Albus he could feel that distance tugging at his heart.

Scorpius knew he wanted to be with Albus for the rest of his life. No! He had to be with Albus for the rest of his life. That was why Scorpius had decided he would come clean today. He would confess his true feelings to his best friend. The paranoid side of Scorpius whispered worries of rejection and abandonment into his inner mind, but his more logical side knew Albus would never turn on Scorpius for loving him. There may be a time of awkward air if Albus didn’t return his feelings, but Scorpius highly doubted that would happen, since Albus blatantly took every chance he could to make skin contact with Scorpius.

Scorpius strode over to the nearby window and looked at the grounds. The leaves of the trees were changing to an array of reds, yellows and oranges. The sun shone bright, only enhancing the fall colors. A thin skin of mist hung over the grass, confirming that the sun deceived you into believing it would be warm outside when there was a hidden chill in the air. The sight instilled Scorpius with a sudden sense of positivity and excitement. He had an inkling that this confession was going to help progress their relationship.

……..

As Scorpius made his way down to the entrance of the school, he was not surprised to see Albus chatting amongst their fellow classmates. Albus didn’t seem to add too much to the conversation himself but he had a very content look on his face as he listened to the other boys chat. At the sight of Scorpius, Albus’s green eyes lit up and his grin grew. Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat, but was able to hide it from showing on his face.

“Took you long enough,” Albus joked when Scorpius joined the group.

“You know I can’t help myself when it comes to books,” Scorpius returned, giving Albus a playful shove.

The other boys in the group rolled their eyes. They had already taken bets as to when the two would finally be official.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Albus inquired, returning the shove.

“Nope, someone had already checked it out,” Scorpius lied.

The two gazed into each other’s eyes for a long moment.

“Come on, you two lovebirds, are you going to make googly eyes at each other all day or will you be so kind as to join us at Hogsmeade,” mocked Johan, a Slytherin boy who was a year below them. He had bet that this month the two would be official for sure.

Scorpius and Albus both ripped their gaze from each other. Both blushed fiercely. One of their friends whooped while another whispered a joking “Ooh-la-la”.

“Come on,” Albus huffed as he swiped at the one who whooped at them.

Scorpius giggled. This exchange only made him feel more confident about coming out to Albus today.

……..

Hogsmeade was bursting to the brim with Hogwarts students. Albus and Scorpius had spent the past hour and a half in Honeydukes as Scorpius meticulously inspected each candy the shop had to offer. He was running low back in the dorm and needed to restock, as well as buy one of each Halloween special candy.

“Okay, I think that’s everything,” Scorpius confirmed as he got into the short line to purchase his massive amount of loot.

“You could feed a small country with all that,” Albus commented. He had decided on a few chocolate frogs for himself.

“You know we will get through all of this by the end of next month,” Scorpius replied with sass.

“With the way you go through candy I would say we’ve got about a week before we need to restock,” Albus joked, his brilliant smile reaching all the way to his eyes.

Scorpius wanted so badly to kiss him right here and now.

“Hey, where did everyone else go?” Scorpius said in an attempt to control himself.

“They left ages ago,” Albus said as he gazed around the packed candy store.

“Well that was rude of them,” Scorpius huffed, though his posture seemed to not really care.

“Someone was taking forever to decide on what to buy,” Albus said as he poked Scorpius square on the nose.

It was moments like this that Scorpius almost lost control of his urges.

“W-Well that's fine,” Scorpius replied. He looked to his candy in an attempt to not act on his instincts. “I have something I wanted to talk to you about in private anyways.”

This won Scorpius an intrigued hum from Albus. Before Albus could question him, Scorpius was waved to the register to buy his goods.

……..

Scorpius led Albus through Hogsmeade and to the Shrieking Shack. This was the only place in Hogsmeade anyone could get a moment of privacy. Even to this day, most students stayed away from the supposedly haunted building. Scorpius had been one of those students, until Harry had told him and Albus that the rumor was only a rumor, and the building had been used as a place to house a werewolf student many years ago. Albus and Scorpius chose not to share this information with anyone.

“So, why are we here?” Albus questioned as the two sat on a bench. He looked around at the nearby trees taking in the autumn colors.

“I… I thought we could talk…” Scorpius replied, choosing his words carefully.

Albus merely raised an eyebrow.

“Talk about what?” Albus asked slowly, either with hope or worry Scorpius wasn’t sure.

“Talk about… us,” Scorpius said, swallowing a lump that started to grow in his throat.

A knowing look shone in Albus’s eyes and a soft smile began to grow. He shortened the distance between them, and Scorpius’s heart did a backflip.

“What is there to talk about?” Albus urged.

Scorpius’s eyes went from Albus’s parted lips to his bright green eyes, and a sensational shiver ran down his spine.

“I love you, Albus Potter,” Scorpius declared breathlessly.

Albus froze, his smile faltered as his eyes widened. Scorpius would have been terrified that he’d made a huge mistake, but then Albus lifted his hand to caress the side Scorpius’s face. He lifted Scorpius’s chin ever so slightly so that they were making full eye contact.

“I wanted to be the one to confess first,” Albus sighed as his thumb brushed Scorpius's cheek. This won Albus an angelic smile from Scorpius. “But I just couldn’t do it. I was too afraid,” he sounded almost bitter about it, but then he smiled softly. “Luckily you’re the brave one, so I didn’t have to do it after all.” 

Scorpius was finding it hard to breathe. Albus’s hand was warm and comfortable. Everything else around them seemed to have vanished and it was just the two of them in the world.

The two leaned in, both wanting this kiss more than anything else in the world. Scorpius’s heart swelled with joy. Their lips centimeters away. They could both feel the other's breath brush past their cheeks.

KABOOM

A blast came out of nowhere, ripping the two boys from each other, both landing on opposite sides of the bench.

Scorpius’s mind swam as he stumbled to his feet. What had just happened? The world around him seemed to spin as he came to his senses. He immediately located Albus. Before Scorpius could so much as draw his wand, another jolt of light hit him straight on, causing him to take flight and slam chest first into a tree. He swore he felt something crack in his chest on impact with the tree, sending a searing pain through his body.

“S-Scorpius,” Albus shrieked in desperation. “No! Stay away from him!”

The world spun as Scorpius rolled over and tried to orient himself. Every breath he took shot pain through his chest. 

“A-Albus?” Scorpius mumbled in desperation, trying to locate where Albus was.

Scorpius heard the sound of spells being cast. He blinked a few times to see Albus make a direct hit with their attacker. Scorpius’s blood went cold when he realised who it was.

“D-Delphi?!” Scorpius gasped. He painfully stumbled to his feel, finding it hard to stand straight.

The blow from Albus did not seem to phase Delphi in the least. The eccentric girl had a wild, murderous glow in her eyes. Her hair stood at all angles as if it had not seen a comb in years. An unstable smile grew across her face.

“You two are just too cute,” Delphi cackled crazily. “Oh, Albus I love you,” she swooned mockingly as she shot a spell at Albus, who just barely dodged it.

“Wh-what! How?” Scorpius stuttered, as he desperately tried to wrap his head round the current situation.

“Scorpius! Look out!” Albus howled desperately.

Delphi sent a blast Scorpius’s way, which he was able to just barely dodge. He drew his wand and shot a spell back at Delphi.

“Albus we have to get out of here!” Scorpius cried desperately.

“Oh, you two are not going anywhere,” Delphi hissed as she shot a few spells at Albus. It seemed as if she wasn't really taking aim.

Albus was able to dodge all but the last one. His feet bound magically together, causing him to fall to the floor. Delphi then shot a spell to bind his hands.

“One down,” Delphi said in delight. She then turned to Scorpius. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Scorpius, run!” Albus screamed from the ground.

Scorpius had to find help but he could not leave Albus alone here with her. The pain in his searing chest was making it hard for him to think.

“I don’t think so,” Delphi sang, as she shot a spell at Scorpius.

Scorpius dodged the spell but found himself backed up against a tree.

“W-What is all this about?” Scorpius demanded, trying to put on a brave front.

“Awww so cute. Looks like the little kitten has learned how to bare its claws,” Delphi mocked. She seemed to be enjoying the fear radiating from the two boys.

Scorpius glared daggers at the insane witch in front of him. His wand was at the ready.

“I think someone needs to teach you your place with our favorite spell, Crucio!” Delphi shrieked.

Scorpius fell to the ground as pain shout through every last inch of his body. His vision became engulfed by searing white pain. He knew he must have been screaming but he could not hear anything over the pain he felt. As soon as it started, the pain vanished and Scorpius went limp. 

“Scorpius! SCORPIUS,” Albus shrieked as he struggled against the bindings that were holding him. His entire being filled with fury as he heard the boy he loved scream in agony. 

“Just like old times,” Delphi giggled, as if she had been craving just this very scenario for years.

Albus tried to worm his way over to where Scorpius was but was blasted in the other direction by Delphi. He found himself bound upside down to a tree now. His green eyes immediately sought out Scorpius, who seemed to be just regaining consciousness. 

“I think we have had just about enough fun for today. All this screaming is bound to attract someone,” Delphi sang, with little care.

Scorpius had only just gained back his sight. His breathing was ragged and labored. His chest seared in pain with each inhalation.

“Scorpius, you have to get out of here,” Albus pleaded desperately.

“Now, to deal with you,” Delphi hummed, as she turned to Scorpius.

“No! Don’t you dare touch him! You will regret it!” Albus’s voice rang through the air, full of venom. 

Delphi ignored the threat. She zoned in on Scorpius, who looked only half conscious.

Scorpius looked up from where he knelt on all fours to find that he was surrounded by tall, purple flames.

“A-Albus,” Scorpius shouted in desperation. He looked to where Albus hung upside down from the tree. Their eyes met though the flickers of purple flames surrounding Scorpius.

“Scorpius! No!” Albus’s green eyes watered as he desperately tried to wriggle free.

“So dramatic,” Delphi sang with joy. “Don’t worry, Little Alby. I am not going to kill your lover boy just yet.” With that Delphi snapped her fingers. The purple flames engulfed Scorpius's whole body.

The last thing Scorpius heard was Albus’s desperate cries. The last thing he saw were the green eyes of his love. And the next thing he knew everything went black.

……..

When Scorpius came to, he found that he was sprawled out face down on what felt like a hard, dirt floor. The air was cold and humid. He could hear what sounded like trickling water from off in the distance. He was genuinely surprised to find that he was still alive. His throat was dry and in need of water. A stab of pain shot through his chest every time he took in and released a breath. His bones ached within his body from the Cruciatus curse. Scorpius had no clue how long he had been out.

He let loose a pained moan as he gained control over his limbs. It took several tries before he found the strength to push himself up. With what little energy he had, he shifted into a sitting position. His head spun as he took in his surroundings.

It looked as if he were in a cave. There were giant glowing crystals shooting out all ends of the cave. He looked around to find one end of the room was a wall decorated in crystals of all sizes, some even bigger than a Hippogriff. The other side of the room was a path that led into what looked like a never-ending tunnel that seemed to be decorated with crystals as well. Scorpius had no clue where he was.

“It’s about time you woke up,” came Delphi’s voice from down the tunnel. “I thought I maybe overdid it and you were never going to wake up.” As she spoke her voice came closer and closer.

With a sudden shot of adrenaline, Scorpius stumbled to his feet only to find his legs were too tired to support his own weight, causing him to crumple to the floor.

“Seems I may have played a little bit too rough,” Delphi giggle as she rounded the corner and came into view.

Scorpius was surprised to find that Delphi was wearing his uniform. He hadn’t noticed before, but now he saw that he was wearing nothing more than his undershirt and what looked like an old tattered pair of sweatpants that were a little too short for his long legs. Even his socks and shoes were missing.

Delphi laughed in evil amusement as she strode directly toward the pathetic pile that was Scorpius.

“Where is Albus?” Scorpius demanded in a shaky whisper. His voice shook from pain and anger.

“Awww, are you worried about your Little Alby?” Delphi said in a baby voice.

“Where is he?!” Scorpius spat as he glared daggers at her, ignoring the sickening nickname.

“Jeez, calm down,” Delphi sighed. She was amused by how helpless but angry Scorpius was.“Little Alby is snug and safe at school,” she hummed.

Scorpius studied the witch in front of him, unsure if he could trust her. No, he knew he couldn’t. She must have done something to Albus.

“What have you done with him?!” Scorpius demanded.

“I told you, he’s just fine. Safe and warm in the Slytherin dorms,” Delphi reiterated. “You should be worrying more about yourself than Albus.”

Scorpius’s glare did not falter as he said nothing.

“I mean, the only reason I’m keeping you around is in case I need a plan B,” Delphi explained with a shrug. “Otherwise I would have cursed you to dead in front of Little Alby. I wonder what kind of expression he would have made at the sight of your lifeless body?”

“Plan?” Scorpius inquired, deciding to ignore the last thing she had said.

“Yes, my plan to exact my revenge on that wretched Harry Potter.” As Delphi spoke her tone filled with venom.

“H-Harry?” Scorpius stuttered. He had not expected her to mention Albus’s dad.

“Yes, Harry Potter,” Delphi hissed. “He kept me from my father. He kept me from my happiness.”

Delphi’s eyes became clouded with murder. The atmosphere in the room became heavy. Her gaze turned to Scorpius. Scorpius suddenly knew what it felt like to stare death in the face. 

“You, too, kept me from my happiness,” Delphi carried on. She now paced back and forth in front of Scorpius, her gaze fixed on him. Her breathing was shallow, as if she was on the brink of losing control of her emotions. Pure hatred for the boy in front of her filled the room.

The intense atmosphere in the air canceled out any pain Scorpius may have been feeling prior to this moment. Every inch of his body fell numb under the intense pressure. His eyes followed Delphi as she paced back and forth but his head did not move.

“How could a pure blood such as yourself be so pathetic?” Delphi whispered, full of venom. “If Albus hadn’t brought you along I may have been able to get want I wanted back then.” Her voice shook unstably as she seethed in anger, and Scorpius was expecting her to shoot him with the Cruciatus curse at any moment.

Delphi stopped pacing and walked toward Scorpius. With every step she took Scorpius felt as if the air in the room was going to crush him. He tried his best not to let the fear coursing through his veins show on his face.

Reaching Scorpius, Delphi knelt down and cupped the boy’s chin in her hands. She tilted his chin slightly, forcing him to look directly into her unblinking eyes - so unlike the loving way Albus had held him like this earlier.

“I could kill you, you know… right here and now,” Delphi whispered dangerously.

Scorpius was well aware of this fact. 

“I could probably even do it without a wand,” she added. Her eyes glinted evilly but her expression did not change. Her grip on Scorpius’s chin tightened painfully as she forced his face towards the ceiling to expose his pale neck. Her free hand rose to his throat and found his pulse in mere seconds. Her eyes studied the slight pulsation in his neck as her fingers ran lightly up and down the artery. 

Scorpius didn’t dare say a word, let alone move.

“But what would be the fun in that?” Delphi's voice was barely audible, her sharp nails brushed across Scorpius’s soft neck.

She carried on in this fashion for what felt like an eternity to Scorpius. With every second, he expected to be met with death. 

But death never came.

Delphi released Scorpius’s chin and stood up. She turned away from the boy, who was shaking like a leaf. Delphi looked as if she was trying to regain her composure.

“You’ll know when my plan has been fulfilled.” Delphi spoke in no more than a whisper now. “I’ll come back to finish you off. And it won’t be a fast death, so no dying on me while I’m away,” Delphi warned. Scorpius half expected her to be joking, but her expression was still stone cold.

The young witch shook her head and turned back to fully face Scorpius again.

“And Albus will have to watch,” Delphi added as her cold expression became a crazed smile.

“N-no!” Scorpius whispered. He wished for nothing more than for her to leave Albus alone.

“And afterwards, maybe I will marry him – keep him as a celebratory trophy,” Delphi said, ignoring Scorpius’s plea. “He is my type you know. And at one point he did like me,” she sang.

“Please, just kill me and leave Albus alone,” Scorpius pleaded desperately. He didn’t even want to know what she would do to Albus to get him to stay by her side.

“No can do,” Delphi said as she shook her head in uncontrollable glee.

“Y-You won’t get away with this. People will notice me gone and —” Scorpius started, but was cut off.

“Oh, don’t you worry about that. No one will even know of your disappearing,” Delphi sang as she pointed Scorpius’s wand to her face. 

Scorpius gasped in horror as he watched Delphi morph from herself into a much more evil Scorpius. His breath caught in his throat.

“No one will notice anything,” Delphi cackled in Scorpius’s voice.

“No...” Scorpius barely whispered in disbelief.

Before any more could be said, Delphi vanished from the cavern with a snap. Scorpius was now completely alone. He looked at the spot she had been standing as tears began to fall down his cheeks. Scorpius had never felt so helpless in all his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! What is going to happen to our Scorpius!?! Where could he possibly be!!!!??? What is Delphi’s plan? Will she get away with it or will someone stop her before it is too late!? What about ALBUS!?!?! Won’t anyone think of the children!!!!?? There is only one way to find out!!!!! Stay tuned for chapter 4!!!
> 
> Speaking of chapter 4, it may come out a few days late. It is still being edited and I will be on vacation for my birthday next weekend so I may be skipping updating next weekend. If I am able to find time while away I will post it but we may need to wait. I may post it Monday if I am satisfied with it. Anyways I just wanted to put a warning here since I promised to post once a week for those who maybe, could possibly, ever so slightly, look forward to the next chapter. I love my readers.
> 
> As always I would like to thank my beta reader, , for helping me greatly with this chapter. She realy helpd me out with writing Albus in this chapter. I had a hard time with it and she really helped me out. If you have time then please hop on over to her page to see her work.
> 
> As always I would love to hear comments from my readers so please leave one if you have some time. It fills me with joy to read what you have to say.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it looks like I was able to get my shit together and get this chapter out. The one who should really be thanked is my beta reader, Just_a_fangirl, for beta reading it for me early. If she hadn’t then this probably would not have come out on time!!   
> I hope you all enjoy chapter 4! Here we go

Lily’s head spun as she started to come to. Her eyelids were heavy and her body ached. She noticed right away that she was laying on her back on what felt like a hard rocky floor. She moaned as she opened her eyes slowly. 

She found herself staring up at a ceiling made of blue glowing crystals. 

She lay there for a moment as she gazed up at the curious ceiling. She had no clue how long she had been out. Her mind spun as the events from earlier began to return. As her mind played through the past few days, it was only when she remembered the purple flames and Scorpius that she jumped to her feet. 

Now standing at full alert, Lily fully took in her surroundings. She was in what looked like a small cavern, like one you might find in a cave. Just like the ceiling, the walls were decorated with blue glowing crystals of all sizes. A few rather large crystals even shot up from the ground. She could hear the trickle of running water from somewhere within the cave.

Lily’s heart pounded as she tried not to panic. She had no clue where she was. She took several slow heavy breaths as she tried to calm herself.

Just then, she heard what sounded like footsteps coming from the tunnel leading out of the cavern. She ran and hid behind one of the large crystals jetting out from the floor, peeking around it just enough to see who was coming. 

Lily’s eyes narrowed in anger as Scorpius rounded the corner. Before she could think logically about what she was doing, Lily charged from behind her crystal and tackled Scorpius to the floor.

“Where have you taken me?!” Lily damned as she pulled her fist back, ready to sock Scorpius in the face.

But Scorpius did not resist. He lay under Lily in a very submissive posture with his palms open and shoulders hunched. He looked extremely surprised and caught off guard.

“Lily!? Lily, it’s me!” Scorpius croaked. His voice sounded hoarse and tired.

Lily’s fury-filled eyes searched the boy below her. Her shoulders moved up and down as she breathed heavily. Her fist was still held high in the air.

Scorpius looked like a wreck. His face was paler than usual even for him – and he had large, dark bags that hung under his tired, gray eyes. His cheeks were gaunt and the pink that normally graced them was replaced with dirt and bruises. His collar bone protruded sickeningly far out from under his neck, and his arms were stick thin.

Lily’s breathing calmed and her fist lowered as Scorpius held a hand out at an odd angle. Lily blinked as she registered what she was looking at.

“What? Did you forget our handshake?” Scorpius asked, hoping this would help convince her. He smiled nervously.

Tears began to gather at the edge of Lily’s eyes. She choked a sob as she pulled Scorpius up into a heartfelt hug. She noticed immediately how thin Scorpius felt as she hugged him. She sobbed incoherently as an odd wave of relief flooded her being.

“L-Lily?” Scorpius stuttered, surprised by the sudden hug. “Hey, it’s okay. Everything is okay,” he whispered as he embraced her back with care.

The two sat on the floor embracing while Lily sobbed into Scorpius’s shoulder. Scorpius said nothing, giving Lily all the time she needed.

After a few minutes Lily pulled away.

“I-I thought you hated me,” she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. 

“What? Why would I hate you?” Scorpius asked with a small laugh. 

“At school you…. Well… you,” Lily didn’t really know how to explain. Her mind was still wrapping around the idea that Scorpius was here – but then who was the other Scorpius?

Lily looked to Scorpius to find that he was only wearing a loose hanging undershirt and old sweat pants that hung low on his waist. He looked exhausted and in need of some proper food. At the moment, he wore a confused expression, his head tilted to the side.

“Earlier today you were at school but you were not really yourself,” Lily explained.

“I’ve… I have been down here for…” Scorpius began. He had no clue how long he had been down in this cave. “Well, I know I wasn’t at school today,” Scorpius insisted with a small laugh.

“That Scorpius wasn't you, was it?” Lily clarified, as things started to make sense. “But Albus, he—” Lily began.

At the mention of Albus, Scorpius lunged forward and grabbed Lily’s shoulders, cutting her off from finishing her sentence.

“Albus!? Is he okay?” Scorpius spoke in utter desperation.

Lily’s eyes were wide at the sudden outburst from Scorpius.

“He… I think he is physically fine,” Lily spoke as fast as she could.

“Wh-What do you mean?” Scorpius demanded.

“Well, the other Scorpius… He is doing something to make Albus act funny, but I don’t think Albus is physically hurt,” Lily clarified.

Scorpius released Lily, analyzing what she had said. He ran his thin fingers through his messy hair as he let loose a heavy sigh.

“It’s Delphi,” Scorpius said after a few moments of silence.

“Delphi?” Lily questioned.

“Yes, Delphi…” Scorpius sighed. “She was the one who sent us here and is probably controlling Albus now.” Scorpius’s voice cracked at the mention of Albus.

“Isn’t she the girl who almost killed you guys two years ago?” Lily asked disbelievingly. “Wasn’t she locked away in Azkaban?”

“Yes! And yes… she was… I mean I thought she was locked up in Azkaban,” Scorpius confirmed.

“But how did she—” Lily began.

“I don’t know,” Scorpius replied before she could finish.

They both sat in complete silence for a long moment. Scorpius was heavy in thought and Lily was in utter disbelief.

“So she is posing as you?” Lily asked, things now starting to make so much more sense.

“We have to get out of here,” Scorpius declared, ignoring Lily’s question.

“What?” Lily asked off guard.

“We have to get out of here,” Scorpius stood up as he spoke. With his hands fisted at his side, he looked down the long tunnel leading out of the cavern. “We have to save Albus.” His expression was full of determination.

Lily was pretty sure they were the ones who needed saving.

“Whoah there,” Lily said as she pulled Scorpius back to the floor.

Scorpius flopped onto the floor next to Lilly and shot her a questioning look.

“We are not going anywhere until you explain to me exactly what is going on,” Lily demanded.

“But we have to—” Scorpius began in protest.

Lily held a finger to Scorpius’s lips to hush him.

“Before we do anything more, I want you to fill me in, and I will fill you in,” Lily explained.

Scorpius looked like he wanted to protest. He thought for a moment, and then nodded.

Lily gasped as she suddenly remembered the rolls from dinner in her pocket. Without an explanation, she pulled out three cold rolls.

Scorpius’s gray eyes lit up at the sight of real food, but he didn’t move to take them. His stomach let loose a very loud grumble.

“Here, eat these,” Lily chuckled, handing them over to Scorpius.

“What about you?” Scorpius replied, hesitating to take them.

“I am not the one who was being deprived of food,” she replied as she thrust all three rolls into Scorpius’s hands. “Besides, you are not going to be able to help anyone with your stomach growling like that.”

Scorpius juggled the three rolls as they fell into his hands. He selected one and examined it for only a moment before taking a big bite. He savoured the roll for only a moment before hunger took over and he ate the rest of the roll in just two bites. Even though they were cold and a little stale, he moaned as he chewed.

Without another word, Lily stood up and removed her robe. She laid it over Scorpius’s shoulders. This won her a confused looked from Scorpius, a piece of roll still hanging out of his mouth.

“Albus, would kill me if I let you freeze to death,” Lily explained as she took her seat next to Scorpius. “Besides, I have three layers on and I was getting a little hot.”

Scorpius smiled in gratitude before he went back to his meal. It only took him a few minutes to finish off the rolls.

“I feel so much better,” Scorpius hummed in joy. “You never realize how wonderful bread is until you have been deprived of it.”

“I don’t mean to pull you from the clouds, but we are still trapped in some unknown cave,” Lily said with a smile. Scorpius was starting to look more like his old self, even though he was wearing her Gryffindor robe.

“Right!” Scorpius shouted as he turned to Lily. “How about we start looking for a way out while we fill each other in,” he suggested. Scorpius wanted to get to Albus as soon as he could.

“I guess I could agree to that,” Lily said as she pushed herself off the floor.

Scorpius followed suit. The two headed to the tunnel. Without a moment's waist Scorpius began to tell his side of the story.

“It all happened really fast, I am still not sure exactly what happened...” Scorpius waved his arms wildly as he began to tell Lily about the events at the Shrieking Shack.

Lily nodded and listened closely as the two made their way out of the cavern and into the tunnel.

……..

The two had been walking for what felt like hours, but the tunnel only led them to other small caverns and a small stream, which Scorpius explained he had been using as drinking water. With each cavern they found, they checked every square inch for a way out. 

“So, the school is having a celebration for the day Harry stopped Voldemort as a child?” Scorpius asked as they entered another cavern. Lily had just finished explaining what had happened to her.

“It would seem so,” Lily hummed as they checked behind a cluster of crystals.

“Do you think she is going to make her move at this event?” Scorpius questioned.

“I… I think so… But I don’t really know,” Lily sighed on discovering there was nothing behind the crystals. “But I am not willing to find out!”

“Don’t worry, I have a feeling that we will find a way out of here,” Scorpius said, shooting Lily a determined look. “We will stop her!”

 

“But…. you have been stuck here for almost a month and have not found a way out yet,” Lily pointed out with worry.

“I know,” Scorpius admitted with a frown. “But… something feels different,” his expression lightened as he spoke. “I… before you came I… I thought Albus was… But now I know he isn't…” Scorpius choked, not finishing the sentence. “I know that he is okay,” Scorpius’s face was soft as he thought about Albus. “He needs me... I can feel it. I can feel him calling. He will lead us out of here for sure.”

Lily smiled sweetly as she listened to Scorpius talk so tenderly about her brother. They truly were right for each other.

“Yeah…” Lily said with a nod. “You know what, I think I can hear his grumpy voice calling for me too. ‘Lily! Lily, stop touching my stuff’,” Lily said, mocking the way Albus spoke.

Scorpius laughed loudly and Lily joined in. Their light-hearted laughter filled the cave.

“You sound just like him,” Scorpius said between laughs.

“Well, he is my brother,” Lily said proudly.

“He is going to be so upset when he finds out we are talking about him like this,” Scorpius’s laugher began to subside as he spoke.

“We don’t have to tell him,” Lily shrugged.

Scorpius shook his head with a sigh. He knew he would probably slip and mention it eventually.

“Well, I don’t see an exit in here, do you?” Scorpius said checking behind another crystal.

“Nope, nothing behind this crystal,” Lily sighed. “Shall we carry on to the next cavern?”

The two exited the cavern as they made their way further down the path.

Lily walked behind Scorpius as the two studied every inch of the tunnel's wall for a way out. Lily’s watched as Scorpius looked behind a rather large crystal. She could not help but notice how loosely her robes hung off of Scorpius's shoulders. Scorpius had always been a thin kid, but he had also been much bigger then Lily ever was. At the moment, though, her robes seemed almost too big for him.

“Scorpius… How are you still alive?” Lily asked, not thinking about her words too carefully.

Scorpius turned to look at Lily in surprise.

“I told you, Delphi decided to leave me here, instead of blasting my head off,” Scorpius replied matter-of-factly.

“No! I mean how did you not starve to death?” Lily clarified. “You have been here for almost a month now.”

“Oh, yeah, right,” Scorpius said, understanding what she mean. He dug deep into his sweat pant pocket and produced a very large, almost empty bag and showed it off proudly to Lily.

Lily’s eye widened upon realizing what the bag was. “Is that from Honeydukes?” she gasped.

“Yeah…” Scorpius replied with a guilty giggle. “Before Delphi attacked us, I had restocked on my candy stash,” Scorpius explained. “I found it later on in the cave after Delphi left me.”

“Wow, living off of candy. Every kid’s dream,” Lily commented.

“Yeah, and the funny thing is, I don’t think I am sick of candy yet,” Scorpius said with a chuckle.

With that, the two carried on down to the next offshoot of the tunnel. They were met with nothing but another crystal-filled cavern. This carried on for several more caverns, causing Lily to start to lose hope yet again. Scorpius might be able to hear Albus calling, but Lily heard nothing but the trickling of the far-off stream.

“We are never going to get out of here,” Lily sighed as they left another cavern. She flopped down next to a rather large crystal and rubbed her face.

“No! We can’t give up now,” Scorpius urged. He seemed just as vigorous as he had been since the beginning of their hunt.

“We have been walking for hours and have found nothing,” Lily complained. She could not understand how Scorpius could go this long without losing hope.

“Lily, we have to save Albus… and your Dad.” Scorpius examined Lily as he spoke. He knew how she was feeling. He had been feeling it not too long ago,as well.

“I know, I just feel like we have been going in circles. What if there is no way out?” Lily tried hard not to cry as she spoke.

“No! There is a way out! Like I said, I can feel Albus calling to me,” as Scorpius spoke, he puffed out his chest.

Lily sighed as she tried to find it in her to feel pumped again.

Just then, Scorpius let loose a loud gasp and shoved Lily aside.

“Hey!” Lily whined as she flopped over.

“What is that?!” Scorpius shouted. He was now on his hands and knees where Lily had been sitting.

“What is what?” Lily questioned as she tried to look around Scorpius.

“There is a hole here,” Scorpius pointed behind the large crystal.

Lily’s eye widened. The hole looked just large enough for them to squeeze through. 

“Do you think it leads out?” Lily asked.

“There is only one way to find out,” Scorpius replied as he got low to the floor and entered the hole.

“Scorpius, wait!” Lily shouted, but it was too late. “He is normally so nervous. I guess he really is determined to get to my brother,” Lily sighed to herself. She, too, got low to the floor and crawled after Scorpius.

The small tunnel seemed to go on for a while. It was stuffy and uncomfortable. As they crawled, the duo’s muscles began to scream in pain. Both wanted badly to stop and rest, but both were equally too scared to stop. With each inch they moved, Scorpius could feel Albus’s presence come closer and closer. 

“How much longer?” Lily huffed from behind Scorpius.

“Just a little bit further,” Scorpius wheezed as he tried to not lose momentum.

“Is it just me or is the tunnel getting more narrow?” Lily commented as she began to feel claustrophobic.

Scorpius chose not to reply as he pushed forward. He, too, could tell it was getting tighter. It took every bit of concentration for him to not focus on how claustrophobic he was beginning to feel.

“Hey! I think I see the exit,” Scorpius cheered.

“Thank God,” Lily gasped from behind.

In a matter of moments, the two pulled themselves out of the hole. The exit was much more narrow than the entrance had been. They both slumped against the wall on either side of the exit as they gasped in slightly less stale air. They were still in the crystal-filled cave, but a much larger area, unlike anything they had seen so far in their search for an exit.

“It’s a good thing I lost some weight. I don’t think I would have fit though that otherwise,” Scorpius said with a breathy laugh. 

Lily lifted an eyebrow as she looked at Scorpius, not finding his comment too funny.

“Albus is going to be so upset when he find out she starved you,” Lily replied dryly.

“Yeah, so will my dad,” Scorpius sighed. He knew his dad was going to have a fit once he found out what was going on. Lily had told him Draco had not come by even once since she had come back from her studies. Perhaps Delphi was good at letter forgery. 

The two examined their new surroundings. They discovered almost immediately that they were now on a ledge that dropped off into a large pit. The pit separated their ledge from another on the far side. Scorpius squinted as he examined what was on the other side of the pit.

“Is… is that a door?” Scorpius asked as he pointed to the other side.

“Yeah… yeah it is!” Lily replied, her voice full of confusion.

“What is a door doing in a cave?” Scorpius spoke with disbelief.

“Ummm, keeping the bugs out,” Lily shrugged, jokingly. Scorpius shot a grin at Lily before looking back at the door.

“That’s the way out,” Scorpius proclaimed.

“How do you know that?” Lily asked, disbelievingly. “It could just lead to another part of the cave.” 

“I can feel it,” Scorpius replied in determination.

“But how are we going to get over there,” Lily pointed out. “It’s too far for us to just jump.”

Both examined the area, trying to find a away to the other side.

“There! We will use that,” Scorpius said as he pointed to a rather large crystal jutting up from the ground of their ledge. 

“What? There is no way we will be able to push that thing over,” Lily gasped.

“No, it’s much larger at the top, making it top heavy. If we thin it at the base we might be able to get it to fall and make a bridge across the hole,” Scorpius explained.

“Do you think it will reach?” Lily asked.

“There is only one way to find out,” Scorpius shrugged. “Get a rock and let’s find out,” Scorpius said as he chose a large jagged rock off the floor.

Part of Lily felt like there was no way this was going to work, but at the same time Scorpius was on a roll, so perhaps it was just better to go with it.

Lily picked out a large rock from the floor and followed Scorpius to the large crystal. The two immediately got to work hacking away at the crystal’s base. Lily was surprised to find that it was working.

“Since when did crystals become this brittle,” Lily commented as they made good headway.

“At the moment, I am just happy it is working,” Scorpius replied, the majority of his focus was on their work at hand. He didn’t really feel like questioning their luck at the moment.

Before long, the two had shaved away a fair amount of the crystal’s base.

“There, let’s try to push it over now. I think it will snap if we apply some pressure,” Scorpius said as he dusted his hands on his pants.

“Let’s hope this work,” Lily sighed.

Scorpius immediately tackled the crystal with all his weight, causing Lily to jump back at the sudden movement. The crystal did not budge.

“Come on. Help me,” Scorpius grunted as he pushed. Sweat started to gather at his brow. The crystal did not move. “We have to get to Albus. I have to stop her before it’s too late,” Scorpius spoke in whole-hearted desperation.

Lily’s heart ached at how hard Scorpius was pushing himself just for her mopy brother. She smiled softly as she joined Scorpius’s efforts.

The two shoved in timed unison, and after several good shoves they heard a distinct crack. The crystal was starting to give.

“Just a few more shoves and she will fall,” Scorpius shouted with a grunt.

They both reared back and charged the crystal at the same time. With a loud *Snap* the crystal began to lean forward . The two backed up and charged the crystal with all they had. The crystal made an even louder *Snap* and with that it fell.

Both Lily and Scorpius held their breaths in anticipation as they watched the crystal fall, hoping it would make it all the way across to the other ledge and not just fall into the pit.

With an earth shaking *BAM* the top of the crystal just barely landed on the other side of the cave, creating a bridge.

Lily and Scorpius both let loose breathy cheers as they gave each other a high five.

“We did it,” Scorpius cheered through gasps of breath.

“You were right! It worked,” Lily sang as she too caught her breath.

“Let’s get across this bridge and save Albus,” Scorpius said without missing a beat, as he climbed onto the crystal bridge. “We can finish catching our breaths on the other side.”

Lily nodded as she followed after Scorpius. 

Neither spoke as they walked across the crystal. It was slippery, and the pit below them looked like it could go on forever. Lily wondered if it even had a bottom. She made sure to stay close behind Scorpius, both trying not to rush and slip but both feeling their stomach knot from how high up they were.

“Just a little further, almost there,” Scorpius whispered as they passed the halfway mark.

Just then, they both heard a heart-stopping *Snap* coming from behind them. Lily glanced back to see that the crystal on the other side was beginning to crack . Before they could say anything, another *Snap* sounded and the crystal shifted beneath their feet. Lily’s knees buckled in fear.

“It’s going to fall,” Lily gasped in horror. They were still too far from the other side.

“No! We are so close,” Scorpius shouted in desperation as the crystal shifted greatly below their feet.

The crystal moved again, this time the back end began to slide down. 

“Run!” Scorpius shouted as he began to pull Lily along by the hand at a dangerous run.

The base of the crystal began to dip down faster and faster from behind them.

“Get ready to jump!” Scorpius warned, as their goal closed in. Closing his eyes, he bent his knees before jumping as high as he could.

“Jump?” Lily shrieked, as she felt the crystal fall from beneath her feet. She shut her eyes in horror, waiting for the long fall. But instead of falling down, she felt herself being pulled up.

Before she could register what happened, she felt her feet make contact with ground. She propelled forward a bit as she landed, but was able to steady herself. Her limbs shaking, she opened her eyes to see they had made it to the other side of the pit.

“We… We made it,” Scorpius gasped in disbelief.

“We made it?” Lily murmured, as she questioned if perhaps this was just a dream.

 

“Y-Yeah, we made it!” Scorpius cheered with a small jump.

“But how?! We were too far from the ledge!” Lily was still in disbelief.

“We jumped,” Scorpius said with a small hop of joy.

“Jumped… but, but how!?” Lily exclaimed. Her mind just could not register how they had managed it.

“Well, my mind was only on Albus and I just jumped,” Scorpius explained with large exaggerated gestures. 

Lily shot him an opened-mouthed stare.

“Who cares how we made it! We just made it,” Scorpius said between some disbelieving laughs of his own.

Lily did not know what to make of what had just happened to them. Perhaps fate was just on their side, or maybe it was something more.

The two sat for a long moment as they caught their breath. They both jumped in unison as the crystal made a large *Boom* once it finally reach the bottom of the pit. 

“That must have been a long fall,” Scorpius whistled, as he looked around to make sure there would not be a cave in.

“It’s a good thing we were able to make it over here in time. There is no way we would have been able to live through a fall like that,” Lily huffed in relief.

Scorpius nodded in agreement. 

“Well, shall we see where the door leads us?” Scorpius sang with a small jig.

“Right,” Lily nodded.

With that, the two made their way to the door. It was nothing more than a plain wooden door with a shiny, smooth, golden knob. Scorpius put his hand on the door as he studied it. He looked to the knob to see that it was nothing more than a regular handle with no lock.

“A door…. Just a door,” Scorpius mumbled in a bit of disbelief.

“Yeah, kind of strange,” Lily commented.

“I wonder why I never found this place before you came…” Scorpius hummed.

“Magic?” Lily shrugged. She had wondered the same thing.

Scorpius tried to shoot her a look, but grinned nonetheless.

“Anyways, shall we?” Scorpius hummed, as he took the knob.

Lily nodded in reply.

Scorpius turned the knob and pushed, but the door did not move. His brow furrowed in confusion as he repeated these movements several times.

“It’s… It’s locked,” Scorpius gasped as he tried not to panic.

“What? It can’t be! There isn’t a lock for it to be locked,” Lily said as she shook her head.

“No… No this can’t… Albus! I know he is on the other side of this door,” Scorpius mumbled as he tried to keep his cool.

Lily pulled out her wand. “Alohomora,” she shouted as she pointed it at the knob. She tried to open it but it would not budge.

She and Scorpius exchanged pale looks.

“No… Albus,” Scorpius whispered desperately as he turned the knob and pushed against the door. “You have to open. You have to.”

Lily hesitated for a moment before trying to give Scorpius a hand. Maybe it was just jammed. As Lily pushed with Scorpius, the door moved ever to slightly. The duo gasped and looked at each other. Both had eyes filled with hope. 

“It moved!” A small smile cracked on Scorpius’s face as he said this.

With that, the two kept on pushing the door. With each push the door loosened.

“Just a little bit more,” Scorpius grunted.

He and Lily both reared back before giving one last push.

With a loud creak, the door shot open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there goes chapter 4. It’s good to see that Lily and Scorpius are both okay but what about Albus!? Will he be on the other side of that door? Where will that door lead? Perhaps Narnia? Maybe even Disneyland? What do you think? There is only one way to find out and that is to stay tuned for next week.
> 
> I am so happy I was able to get this chapter out on time so I would like to thank my Beta reader, Just_a_fangirl, for finishing editing this chapter early. It really helped me out. If any of you have time please take a moment to check out her stuff.
> 
> I will hopefully get chapter 5 out by Friday or Saturday next week. As long as life stays average I should get it out on time. 
> 
> I also want to thank all my readers for reading my goofy little fic and leaving me such nice comments. I really love to hear from you guys. This week I want to know if any of you can guess what inspired this story. The main plot is very similar to something that is from a show I love to watch and I just had to put the boys into this situation. Can anyone guess what it is? Let me know in the comments if you have any idea!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!!!! Chapter 5 is finally ready. Sorry for the few days delay. There was some last minute details I had to smooth out but I got it out before the weekend is over HIGH FIVE ANYONE? Also give one to my beta reader for putting up with needy old me. Anyways, I hope you find this chapter exciting.

Scorpius gasped as he stumbled through the door into the halls of Hogwarts. From behind, Lily ran into him, pushing him into the wall. 

“Sorry,” Lily grunted.

“What the…” Scorpius gasped in confusion as he looked around. The hall was lit with torches, and moonlight spilled through the windows.

The two looked back at the door they had just burst through to see it shut on its own and disappear.

“What the heck?!” Lily spat in utter disbelief. “Are we… is this Hogwarts?”

“Yeah… It would seem so,” Scorpius said as he gave his head a small shake to be sure he was not seeing things. Perhaps this was a hallucination from lack of food.

“But, how did… the cave… the door… What?” Lily stuttered incoherently as she made large exaggerated gestures.

Scorpius thought for a moment before shouting “Ah-ha!” causing Lily to jump.

“It was the Room of Requirement… it must have been. If we are where I think we are, then this is where one would find it,” Scorpius explained.

“Can the Room of Requirement make a cave like that?” Lily questioned.

“I guess if you require it,” Scorpius shrugged.

Lily thought about it for a moment but decided to give up. She had been through way too much to worry about this. She then noticed that it was night.

“What time is it?!” Lily asked in a panic. “It’s dark out! The party!”

Scorpius shot Lily a wide-eyed look, understanding what she was getting at. The two held the silent panicked exchange for only a moment.

“Let’s go,” Scorpius hissed as he tried to keep his cool. 

With that, the two shot down the corridor towards the Great Hall.

…….

Scorpius and Lily ran at top speed as they closed in on the Great Hall. Several of the pictures on the walls they passed gasped in alarm, but they did not run into anyone else as they dashed down the halls and staircases. Lily could not help but curse in fear that they would be too late.

They both stopped in the hall just before the entrance and caught their breaths. The doors to the Great Hall were cracked open, and they could see light pouring out of the entrance. They could hear what sounded like Professor McGonagall talking, but couldn't make out what she was saying. It seemed as if they were not too late.

“Listen, we will slip in and make our way to the stage,” Scorpius whispered as he began to explain the plan he was obviously making up on the spot.

Lily nodded as she listened carefully.

“When we get to the front, you grab your dad and I will grab Albus and we’ll get them away from Delphi,” Scorpius carried on. “We will then call her out once Harry and Albus are out of harm's way.”

“Do you think this will work?” Lily’s voice shook as she spoke. The weight of their situation suddenly came upon her. Her pounding heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest at any moment.

“Yes! It will! It has to,” Scorpius urged in determination. Lily could tell that he was as nervous a she was, despite how he spoke.

The two took a moment to try and calm themselves a little before entering the room.

They were able to slip into the Great Hall without anyone taking much notice. Many of the students were too busy watching the stage or whispering to each other to take notice of them. At the moment, the chairs and tables in the room had been cleared out. The front of the room contained a rather large stage. Some of the paper flower decorations haphazardly hung from above the stage.The room was filled with students in fancy dress robes. Those that were a couple stood together while those going stag stood in groups of friends. Lily was certain she and Scorpius stood out in the grimy clothes they wore. 

At the moment, Professor McGonagall stood in the middle of the stage giving what was probably an opening ceremony speech to kick off the event. Behind her stood Harry, Albus and Delphi-Scorpius. Lily noticed Scorpius shoot daggers at Delphi-Scorpius as she stood a little too close to Albus.The two bent low and crept through the students so that they would not be noticed by any of the teachers.

As they crept through the crowd, students began to take notice of them, most just shooting them annoyed looks. Fortunately, the teachers didn’t seem to pay too much mind to their movement. Lily could feel her pulse increase with every step. Scorpius began to sweat with nerves.

“And next, Mr. Harry Potter will give a few words before we start the festivities,” Professor McGonagall said as she ended her speech and gestured for Harry to step forward.

Harry nervously stepped forward as Professor McGonagall walked off stage. He looked as if he wished he were not there, but began to speak nonetheless. Lily wanted nothing more than to give her dad a hug.

“Are you ready?” Scorpius whispered almost inaudibly as they got into position.

Lily nodded without a word as she tried to focus.

Scorpius held out three fingers.

One… Two… Three!

The two lunged forward and rushed the stage, causing several of the surrounding students to gasp. Scorpius made a beeline for Albus. Before anyone could comprehend what was going on, Scorpius had taken Albus’s arm in his and pulled him away from Delphi-Scorpius to the far corner of the stage. Harry jumped back and turned on Scorpius. Delphi-Scorpius looked just as shocked as everyone else.

Like a wave, a murmur of confusion ran through the hall. Lily ran beside Harry but was unnoticed as Harry’s full attention was on Albus and Scorpius.

Scorpius looked around the room as he tried to find his voice. 

“What are you doing with Albus?” Delphi-Scorpius screamed in horror. 

“Get your hands off my son,” Harry added as he went to grab for his wand, but was stopped by Lily. Harry practically threw Lily to the floor before realizing who she was.

“N-No! I- I won’t give him to you,” Scorpius tried hard not to stutter as he spoke. He held a very dazed Albus close as he shot daggers at Delphi-Scorpius.

Delphi-Scorpius’s eye filled with rage as she glared back at Scorpius.

“That- That Scorpius is not me! I mean, not real! A fake!” Scorpius shouted as he addressed Harry and the crowd now. 

“What?” Harry gasped as the room filled with confusion. Teachers started to try to corral students out of the Great Hall, but too many were enamored by the dramatic seen on stage.

“It’s true, Dad, that Scorpius over there is a fake,” Lily urged as she pointed an accusing finger at Delphi-Scorpius.

Harry looked between the two Scorpiuses as some of the teachers started to make their way to the stage.

Panic started to show on Delphi-Scorpius’s face.

“Albus! Albus please, wake up,” Scorpius whispered, his attention now on Albus. Albus would be able to vouch for them.

“It’s Delphi, Dad, Delphi- ah!!” Lily spoke quickly but was cut off by a sudden blast of energy from Scorpius-Delphi. Lily fell to the stage floor away from Harry. 

Scorpius still held Albus tight as they, too, were knocked down by the sudden force.

“Incarcerous,” Delphi-Scorpius spat, binding Harry where he lay. 

The next thing Lily knew, the stage was surrounded by some sort of a force field, making it impossible for anyone else to come on or get off of the stage.

The room erupted in panic at the sudden outburst. Students screamed and ran for the exits. Teachers panicked as some tried to calm the students and others ran to the stage. 

“Lily! Albus!” Harry stuttered from where he lay bound.

“Dad!” Lily went to crawl to him, but was stopped by a blast.

“Meddling little wench,” Delphi-Scorpius hissed as she shot small blasts from Scorpius’s wand to push Lily back further from her dad.

“Albus! Albus, you have to snap out of it,” Scorpius pleaded as he shook a still dazed Albus.

“He is under my spell, boy. He can’t hear you,” Delphi-Scorpius cackled as she took flight. She then took a deep breath before returning to her true form.

“What!?” Harry gasped as he struggled to break the bonds.

“You won't get away with this!” Scorpius shouted with more desperation than he meant.

“I’m already halfway there,” Delphi hissed as she turned to Harry.

“Stay away from my dad!” Lily threatened futilely. Delphi ignored the threat.

“Oh, yes! This is too good,” Delphi laughed as she stood over Harry. “My father’s dream! I may not ever be able to see him alive but I can finish what he started,” she said with an evil cackle. She was enjoying every moment.

“Albus! Your father!” Scorpius pleaded as he shook the almost non-responsive Albus. Albus’s green eyes were glazed over, almost as if he were sleeping. Scorpius’s mind raced as he tried to think of a way to snap Albus out of this daze.

Scorpius looked around before remembering the vast number of stories his mom told him about how true love could break strong spells. Without hesitation, Scorpius took a deep breath before plunging in and kissing Albus hard on the lips. As they kissed, he pleaded that this would snap Albus out of it.

At first, it seemed as if the kiss was not working, but Scorpius only deepened the kiss, putting all the feeling he had for Albus into the action. 

Albus’s hand lifted and rested on Scorpius's lower back, causing Scorpius to pull away so he could look at Albus.

“S-Scorpius?” Albus groaned as he started to come to.

“Albus,” Scorpius whimpered as he tried to contain the massive amount of emotions that began to swell up inside his chest. Tears gathered in Scorpius's eyes as he watched the light come back to Albus’s green eyes.

Albus looked up at Scorpius as he wiped a tear away, still fully unaware of the situation. He smiled a tender smile before it fell into concern as he took in the ragged Scorpius. 

“You… you look awful. What happened?” Albus croaked as he cupped Scorpius's cheek, his thumb wiping away a tear.

“I am so happy you are okay,” Scorpius said in a shaky voice as he leaned into Albus’s hand, trying not to break into a full out sob.

It then dawned on Albus what had happened to them in Hogsmeade. Before he could ask about his relocation, he was tackled by Lily. 

“Albus! Albus! Thank Dumbledore you are okay,” Lily cried as she embraced her brother. “Albus, we have to save Dad,” she spoke in a panicked tone as she removed herself from Albus.

“Dad?” Albus asked, still not fully aware of what was happening. Scorpius and Lily helped him to his feet as he took in the image of Harry being stalked by Delphi. Harry had somehow managed to unbind one arm, but his wand was nowhere in sight. 

“Dad!” Albus shrieked.

“Albus, Lily, Scorpius! RUN!” Harry demanded as he rolled away from one of Delphi’s attacks.

The three kids ignored Harry’s plea.

“What are we going to do?” Lily whimpered. She felt almost helpless as she watched her father barely dodge several attacks.

Scorpius and Albus made eye contact and had what looked like a silent conversation.

“Lily, step back. We will stop her,” Albus demanded as he drew his wand out from his robe.

“But, Albus there is no way… You’re not powerful enough to take her on alone,” Lily objected.

“Don’t worry, Lily, he won’t be alone,” Scorpius said with a wink.

“What… What do you mean?” Lily stuttered.

Holding hands, Albus and Scorpius merely smiled before stepping towards Delphi.

“This stops here, Delphi,” Scorpius spoke in a clear voice.

“What was that!?” Delphi cackled as she turned on the two boys. “Oh! Do you want me to kill you first?” she questioned evilly. “So kind of you to volunteer.”

Albus and Scorpius stood their ground as she turned on them. Both had faced her before, but this time they were much older, and more equipped for a fight.

“You locked up my boyfriend,” Albus began, his hand tightening round Scorpius’s. “You take control of my body, attack my little sister, and try to kill my dad.” As Albus spoke, his eyes filled with more and more fury. “I think you have overstayed your welcome, wouldn’t you agree, Scorpius?”

Scorpius nodded with a determined grin. Both boys knew this was a death sentence but hoped it would win Harry and the others some time to weaken Delphi's defences.

“Oh, how brave of you two to sand up to me like this,” Delphi grinned evilly as she spoke. “I remember the first time we played, you both practically wet yourselves,” she laughed as she said this.

Albus’s and Scorpius’s demeanor did not change. They would not give her the satisfaction. 

With Delphi distracted, Lily tiptoed her way over to where Harry lay, currently rolling around in an attempt to free himself.

“Perhaps I should have just killed you both when I had the chance,” Delphi’s voice became cold and cruel as she said this. “It was my mistake not ripping your throat out when I had contemplated it back in the cave,” Delphi hissed as she turned on Scorpius. Fire flared in her eyes but Scorpius did not stand down. He had Albus, and that gave him all the courage he needed.

Albus defensively pulled Scorpius closer as he stared Delphi down with his fire-filled green eyes.

“And Albus,” Delphi’s expression softened as she addressed the fuming Albus. “I thought after I had achieved my goal we would marry and live happily every after,” Delphi spoke in a mockingly romantic tone. “You are my type, you know,” she sang as she batted her cold blue eyes.

Despite wanting to vomit on spot, Albus did not reply. He and Scorpius stood close, both ready to fend her off the second she made any move.

By this time, Lily had reached Harry. She tried her best to not be noticed as she helped her dad get into a sitting position. Lily was almost sure Delphi was aware of what she was doing, but Delphi didn’t seem to really care at the moment.

“It’s too bad it could not work out between us, Albus,” Delphi sighed mockingly. “I guess this is where you and your little lover will die,” her voice became cruel again as she spoke.

“You aren’t going to defeat us, Delphi,” Albus’s tone was stern as steel. “Scorpius and I have something you don’t,” Albus smiled as he said this.

“Oh? And what would that be,” Delphi hissed as she got in position to attack. She lifted her wand, pointing it at the two boys.

Scorpius and Albus held each other close, their free arms wrapped around each other’s waists. Their bodies pressed together as they held Albus’s wand together. Their heart beats matched as they pointed Albus’s wand directly at Delphi.

At the same moment, Delphi and the two boys shot simultaneous spells.

“Avada Kedavra,” Delphi shrieked as green light shot from Scorpius’s wand.

Although neither Albus nor Scorpius uttered a single word, Albus’s wand erupted with a pure white light that shot through the air and decimated Delphi's curse. The force of the blast’s recoil almost knocked Albus and Scorpius down, but they were able to support each other to stay standing. The pure white light emitted a pulse of energy that radiated through the room when making contact with Delphi. The shield around the stage shattered and Harry’s binds dissipated.

“Noooo,” Delphi shrieked as she fell to the stage floor. 

Albus and Scorpius leaned on each other as they did their best not to collapse to the floor, both looking as if they were barely able to stay conscious.

“No! No!” Delphi stumbled to her feet. The wand she held was splintered and unusable. She tossed it aside as she turned on Scorpius and Albus. “You! You two!” her voice shook with rage as she zoned in on Albus and Scorpius.

Albus and Scorpius did their best to stand their ground but collapsed together to the floor, both finding that whatever they had just done had zapped them of all their energy. Despite the situation they held each other tight, both still ready to fend off Delphi to protect the other.

“Don’t you dare touch my son,” Harry spat. He was now free from the bonds, his wand pointed at Delphi, ready to blast her if she made another move.

Several of the teachers now surrounded the exposed stage. 

Delphi looked around, knowing she had no chance against this many people. She turned back to the two boys. Albus and Scorpius were barely able stay conscious. 

“You are both going to wish I had just killed you,” Delphi’s voice was pure venom. “This isn’t over!”

Before anyone could react, Delphi’s body erupted into purple flames, causing several people in the hall to gasp. When the flames had extinguished, she was gone.

Shocked silence hung in the air as everyone looked at the spot Delphi had just occupied moments ago.

“Search the castle!” Professor McGonagall demanded. “She could not have gotten far.”

“Albus!” Harry shouted as he rushed over to his son.

“Albus, Scorpius,” Lily echoed as she followed behind her dad.

Between Delphi threatening them and her disappearing, the two boys had passed out on each other, both laying in a pile on the stage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there we go. Chapter 5 is over. I hope you enjoyed it. I tried my best with making the action easy to understand and not too wild. There is only one more chapter left after this. I wonder if they will find Delphi? Will Albus and Scorpius be okay? The loose ends will be all tied up next time! So stay tuned. 
> 
> As always, thank you to my beta reader, Just_a_fangirl, for always reading over my work and helping me with my spelling and grammar errors (and let me tell you I make a ton of them so we really should be thanking her). If any of you are looking for more to read then please hop on over to her page.
> 
> Chapter 6 should be out next week. It will be more like and epilog and will have more scorbus than anything else. I was going to just merge chapters 5 and 6 but it got a little long and I really wanted to add some fluffy scorbus so I hope you hang around for next week. The shipper in me couldn’t help it.
> 
> By the way if you could not tell by now this whole story was inspired by the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic A Canterlot Wedding special. I just thought it would make a fun story and I am evil and wanted to put our boys through it. I like the idea of a Delphi who flirts with Albus simply because she is a crazy loon who like to mess with people and see them in pain so I felt like she made a decent Chrysalis.
> 
> I would like to thank my readers for taking the time out of your busy life to read my story. I really really do appreciate it and enjoy reading all the comments left. I appreciate hearing what you like about the story and any areas you may have felt fell flat. It really does help show me where my writing needs work and where things are going just fine. I also just love you read all your reactions to the plot and such. If you have a moment please do leave me a comment.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! The final chapter! Chapter 6. This chapter will not contain as much action but does promise some scorbus. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> I don’t own Harry Potter or My Little Pony. (I see people putting this at the beginning of their chapters. Is this something fic writers do? Is it so we don’t get sued?)

Lily sat in a chair beside her sleeping brother. She tapped her knees nervously with the tips of her fingers as she watched Albus’s chest rise and fall with each calm breath he took. Albus had not woken up since passing out two nights ago after fighting off Delphi. Madam Pomfrey insisted that all Albus needed was a bit of serious rest after being controlled by Delphi for so long. In the bed next to Albus’s lay Scorpius. Scorpius, too, had yet to wake up, and in Lily’s opinion he still looked like he was in desperate need of a proper meal, though all of the scratches and bruises that had been littering his body had since vanished. Madam Pomfrey really was a miracle worker when it came to healing wounds.

Lily had been given the past two days to also recover from the events. At the moment, she had insisted on staying with Albus and Scorpius while Harry and Draco were away with the teachers, and Aurors searched the castle yet again for Delphi. At the moment, Lily was waiting alone for her dad to return with news. They had all been searching for Delphi none stop since she ran. It scared Lily to think that she was still out there.

“Where could she have gone?” came the shaky, frustrated voice of Draco Malfoy. Lily could tell that he was trying to hold back anger as he spoke.

Lily’s eye went from Albus to the Hospital’s entrance as Harry and Draco came through the door.

“I-I don’t know,” Harry said as the two approached Lily. “It’s like she just vanished somehow.”

“Vanished? No one is able to apparate in or out of Hogwarts,” Draco spat in exasperation. He took a deep breath as an attempt to calm himself as he took his seat next to Scorpius. The poor man had been a complete wreck since the moment he arrived at Hogwarts two nights ago. He had sat next to Scorpius for practically the whole night and half of the next day not saying a word to anyone. He had no clue Scorpius had been in any sort of trouble until he had received an owl from the school.

“I know, I know,” Harry sighed as he took his seat next to Lily. He then turned his attention to his daughter. “You said that those purple flames were what she used to send you and Scorpius to the Room of Requirement?” Harry asked as he removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah… I mean, that's what Scorpius said when we exited the cave…. That we must have been in the Room of Requirement,” Lily insisted. It seemed like Harry asked her this same question every hour or so. “Has no one been able to access the room?”

“We’ve had people guarding that spot for days now and even when the room did appear it was not in the form of a cave,” Harry replied with a sigh as he put his glasses back on.

Draco had gone quiet as his attention was now fully on his sleeping son.

Silence hung in the air as the three studied the two sleeping boys.

“Do you think she is gone from the school?” Lily asked in a breathy whisper.

Neither man replied. Everyone was pretty sure of the answer but no one wanted to admit it. Eyes had been on the Marauder's Map since the night of the attack but Delphi had not shown up, not even once.

“I don’t want you to worry about it, Lily,” Harry finally replied as he laid a loving hand on Lily’s back. “You, your brother and Scorpius are safe now. Leave finding Delphi to us,” as he spoke he rubbed circles on her back.

Lily nodded in a silent reply. She knew there was nothing any of them could do at the given moment but wait and hope Delphi was found.

“It’s going to be dinner soon. Why don’t you go on downstairs and eat with your friends,” Harry said as he gave her a hearty pat. “I think it will help you feel better.”

Lily sat for a moment as she considered going down to the dining hall. She had spent the past few days watching over Albus and only saw her friends once. Madam Pomfrey had demanded that unless someone was in need of her assistance, only family was allowed to visit the two boys. Lily knew that seeing her three friends would really help her feel a sense of normalcy.

“Yeah… I guess you're right,” Lily finally replied as she stood from her seat.

“I will contact you if they wake up,” Harry said with a nod. 

……..

Albus’s head felt clogged and heavy. Anytime he tried to focus on a single thought he would feel a dizziness sweep over him and the thought would be gone. He felt the need to call out or say something but could not find his voice. He was half aware of action around him but it all felt so far away. 

He tried hard to focus on what had recently happened and what was currently happening now. How had he found himself in such a state? His mind would wander to Scorpius and then his sister and then his father. Flashes of a fight would pass through his mind’s eye.

“Albus…..”

He remembered a struggle.

“Albus?”

He and Scorpius had fought off Delphi.

“Albus!”

Was that Scorpius calling him?

“Harry, I think he is waking up!”

No… that was not Scorpius’s voice. It sounded like Mum.

“Albus… Albus can you hear me?”

A second voice? A deeper voice? Two voices?

Albus’s throat burnt as he let out a groggy, forced groan.

“He is waking up, Dad!”

Three voices?

“L-Lily?” Albus throat burned as he spoke.

“Get Madam Pomfrey,” came the now unmistakable voice of his dad, Harry.

“Dad….” Albus spoke in a whisper. He cracked open his tired eyes only to be assaulted by a bright light. A goran left Albus as he tried to turn away from a bright light. He heard footsteps rush away and the sound of curtains being pulled shut.

“Albus… Are you awake?” Ginny prompted as she stroked her youngest son’s hair.

“Mum….?” Albus croaked as he opened his eyes to be greeted by a teary-eyed Ginny. This time he was not assaulted by a bright light. He blinked slowly several times as his vision came into full focus. He was in the Hospital Wing.

“Oh thank goodness you’re awake,” Ginny practically sobbed, though she was smiling.

“Albus, how are you feeling?” Harry asked as he leaned over his wife’s shoulder. Albus’s eye shot to his father to find that the man looked frazzled and exhausted.

“Dad… whats going on?” Albus moaned as he tried to recall what was happening.

“Let me through! Let me trough!” Madam Pomfrey demanded as she pushed Ginny and Harry out of the way. “First I must examine him! Than questions can be answered.” She spoke with full authority as she pushed Harry and Ginny away from the bed to give herself sufficient room. Harry and Ginny stepped back next to Lily to give Madam Pomfrey the space she needed to work.

Madam Pomfrey immediately got to work examining Albus’s eyes. Albus looked at his parents over Madam Pomfrey as she shined a light in his left eye. His mind raced as the events of the past month came rushing back.

He recalled Hogsmeade. He recalled Scorpius confessing to him and Delphi attacking them. He recalled flashes of trying to fight her off at school only to have her overtake his mind over and over. Scorpius waking him up with a kiss and them both attacking Delphi together. He remembered trying so hard to stay wake as Delphi turned on them. He needed to protect Scorpius. Scorpius… Where was Scorpius?

“Scorpius! Where is he!?” Albus shouted in panic as he shot up in bed. A sharp pain shot through his head and down his upper neck causing him to curl in on himself and hold his head.

“Albus!” Ginny and Harry simultaneously gasped.

“Whaaa!” Madam Pomfrey shrieked at the sudden movement and outburst. She had been in the middle of examining his chest. “What in the name of Merlin’s beard do you think you’re doing? You’re going to cause yourself to pass out again if you move like this so soon after waking up,” she scolded as she made to shove Albus back into a lying position. She then mumbled something under her breath about Potters.

“No! I need… Is Scorpius…. Where is he?” Albus struggled to speak though the pain he felt. He stubbornly resisted Madam Pomfrey as he spoke.

“Albus, sweetie, Scorpius is just fine,” Ginny assured in a calm voice.

“He is in the bed next to you,” Lily added quickly.

Albus’s shoulders relaxed at this and he cracked his eyes open. This act caused his eyes to ache. His green eyes looked to the side to see Scorpius safe and snug in the hospital bed next to his. Beside the bed opposite of Albus sat a very startled Draco.

“Thank Dumbledore,” Albus sighed as he collapsed into his bed. “Is he okay? Is he going to be okay?” he asked as he shut his eyes to try and get control of his headache.

“He will be fine. He just needs rest,” Madam Pomfrey replied in an annoyed tone. “We can worry about him later. You are the one awake now, so please stop being stubborn and let me finish checking you over,” she huffed in frustration.

Albus let loose a sigh as he allowed himself to fully relax. “Sorry,” he whispered as he lay still to let Madam Pomfrey finish her work.

Madam Pomfrey huffed in exasperation as she got back to examining him. It only took her a few minutes to finish with her check up. “Drink this,” Madam Pomfrey demanded as she handed a smoking potion to Albus. “It will clear your mind and get rid of that headache.”

Expecting the worst, Albus plugged his nose and downed the smoking potion. It tasted of fermented peaches and smoke. He’d had worse. 

Madam Pomfrey then turned to Albus’s three family members. “He needs rest. You have five minutes to speak with him and then I must ask you to let him rest!” 

The three nodded in agreement and with that Madam Pomfrey made her way over to the sleeping Scorpius to check him over as well.

Albus turned his attention to his family. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion but he tried his best to put on a neutral, calm expression so as to not worry them.

“Oh Albus. Thank Dumbledore you are awake,” Ginny rushed towards his bed as she spoke.

“How are you feeling?” Harry asked as he took Albus’s hand.

“Just dandy, Dad,” Albus replied dryly. Harry rolled his eyes.

“Well, you're well enough to sass,” Lily giggled. She took a seat at the foot of Albus’s bed. Madam Pomfrey side-eyed this action but said nothing as she exited the room.

“How long have I been out?” Albus asked as he gave his sister a light nudge with his foot.

“About two days,” Harry replied.

“Ah…. I see,” Albus replied with a sigh. “Has Scorpius woken up yet?” he then asked as he looked to the sleeping Scorpius. 

Draco was now reading from a book but looked up from it. “I’m afraid he has not awoken,” Draco replied in an almost shaky voice. “Though, I am glad to see you awake and well, Albus,” Draco greeted, though he looked a mess, like he had not seen much sleep in the past few days. 

“Thank you,” Albus mumbled with a worried frowned. His eyes examined Scorpius who looked to be in a deep sleep. He had faith that Madam Pomfrey had things under control but he could not shake feeling anxious.

“Albus… Do you remember what happened?” Harry asked as he rested a hand on Albus’s shoulder to get his attention.

“I can remember bits and pieces…” Albus replied as he recalled the past events. “We, Scorpius and I, were attacked in Hogsmeade and Delphi had sent Scorpius away, and soon after that she… I think that's when she took over my mind,” Albus explained. 

There was a cold silence in the room.

“I also remember fighting her after Scorpius helped break that hex…” Albus carried on slowly. “Where is she now, Dad?”

The room filled with another wave of silence.

“Dad?” Albus pushed as he looked to his father.

“We…. we don’t know,” Harry replied.

Silence again.

“Well, at least she isn’t lost in time,” Albus commented dryly. He tried not to let this news frighten him.

“Yeah, at least there is that,” Harry sighed as he smiled weakly. “But, don’t worry. We don’t think she is anywhere near here.”

“Your five minutes are up,” Madam Pomfrey said as she entered the room. “This boy needs rest if you want him to heal quickly.”

Harry, Lily and Ginny all bid Albus a reluctant farewell and said they would visit again in the morning, next time with James. Draco did not move an inch from his seat and no one seemed to care.

……..

Albus had been awake for a full 24 hours now and felt almost back to normal. He had spent the majority of the day napping. When he was not sleeping, he was talking with his family when they came to visit. 

Now it was late at night and Albus was wide awake. His headache had vanished and the fog that had been clouding his thoughts was all but gone. He was alone in the hospital wing at the moment — even Draco had been coaxed to go home and get some rest. He would be no good to Scorpius if he didn’t care for himself first.

After spending most of the day napping Albus was not feeling terribly tired. He had spent the past thirty minutes counting the stars out the window as he tried to keep worry from his mind. Silence filled the room. Albus had no clue where Madam Pomfrey had gone off to but he had not heard her scuttling around for a while.

Albus started to become lost in the stars as he tried to remember the various constellations Scorpius had shown him. No matter what he tried to do, everything brought his mind back to Scorpius. He did the best he could throughout the day not to obsess over the boy he loved. Part of him worried that Scorpius would never wake up. He also worried that when Scorpius did wake up, he would not remember the confessions. Perhaps that would give Albus a chance to confess again in a more romantic setting. Albus wasn’t very good with romance but he would do his best for Scorpius.

Albus was suddenly torn from his thoughts when he heard the sound of movement from the bed next to him. Without thinking, Albus lept out of his bed. His legs wobbled clumsily from so many days in bed, but he stumbled over to where Scorpius lay. 

“Scorpius?” Albus whispered hopefully.

The other boy let loose a quiet goan.

“Scorpius…” Albus breathed again quietly. He stroked his boyfriend’s forehead comfortingly.

“Al…bus...” Scorpius spoke in a distant whisper.

“I’m right here,” Albus coaxed as he grasped Scorpius’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably in bed as he let loose another groan.

“It’s okay,” Albus whispered as he lifted Scorpius’s hand to his chest.

Scorpius shifted in bed yet again but relaxed when his hand made contact with Albus’s chest. He groaned once more as he squinted his eyes.

Albus kept Scorpius’s hand to his chest, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

“Albus…?” Scorpius croaked as his gray eyes cracked open. He blinked a few times as his eyes focused on Albus. He wore a momentary look of confusion before a calm smile settled. His gray eyes gazed up at Albus as he smiled.

“Scorpius…” Albus whispered as he smiled sweetly back. He could feel tears of relief begin to gather at the corner of his eyes.

“What…. Aren’t you happy to seem me awake,” Scorpius whispered jokingly as he gave Albus’s hand a squeeze.

“You don’t know how happy I am to see you awake,” Albus whispered as he tightened his grip on Scorpius’s hand. The two gazed into each other’s eyes silently as they soaked up the sweet moment. Scorpius’s eyes examined Albus as if he were looking for anything to be out of place.

“Are you okay? Did she hurt you?” Scorpius asked after not finding a single scratch.

“What? I’m fine!” Albus insisted, a little surprised by Scorpius’s immediate worry. “You’re the one who has been out longer.”

“How long?’ Scorpius asked. His hand still held Albus’s as if he were afraid the other boy would disappear if he let go.

“About three days,” Albus hummed in reply.

“What about you?” Scorpius followed up, his tone a bit more urgent.

“Just two,” Albus chuckled. “You don’t need to worry so much. I’m right here.”

Without a word, Scorpius scooted over to make room on his hospital bed. With what little strength he had, he pulled Albus into the small vacant spot.

Albus hesitated for a moment, unsure if he was reading the gesture correctly.

“Get in,” Scorpius commanded as he gave a rather assertive tug.

Without another hint of hesitation, Albus slipped into the bed next to Scorpius. Scorpius immediately turned towards Albus and wrapped his arms around his chest. Albus slipped an arm under Scorpius and pulled him close.

“I was so worried I would never see you again,” Scorpius whispered into Albus’s chest.

“We are together now,” Albus comforted as he tightened his hold on Scorpius.

“Stay here with me tonight,” Scorpius replied. His tone left no room for opposition.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Albus hummed, more than happy to share a bed with the boy he loved. “But Madam Pomfrey is going to freak.”

“I don’t care,” Scorpius replied with a chuckle. The idea of the older lady finding them amused them both.

Albus smiled at the sound of Scorpius's sweet laugh.

With that, the two soaked in the moment, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the other in their arms. Neither said a word, and before long Scorpius drifted into a deep sleep, his grip on Albus not relenting even a bit. Albus took comfort in the secure embrace and before long he, too, fell into a sweet sleep.

…….

The two boys woke the next morning to the sound of a very unamused Madam Pomfrey. After shushing Albus back to his own bed, Madam Pomfrey had scolded the two for not alerting her in the night when Scorpius had awoken. As she checked over Scorpius for any ill effects, the two boys couldn't contain their giggles, though Scorpius held a bit more guilt in his eyes then Albus.

“I never thought I would enjoy soup and bread so much,” Scorpius moaned as he slurped down the breakfast Madam Pomfrey had brought for him. She had insisted his first meal after waking up be something light but nutritious.

Albus had a meal of crispy bacon, eggs and toast. “You sure you don’t want some bacon?” Albus said, offering a strip of bacon to Scopus for the second time. He imagined a bowl of soup would not be satisfying.

“No, that's okay,” Scorpius replied, though his eyes said ‘yes’ as they examined the strip of crispy meat. “Madam Pomfrey said that I shouldn’t be eating—” but before he could finished his sentence, Albus plopped the strip of bacon onto the side of Scorpius’s tray.

“Albus!” Scorpius sighed, but took a bite of the bacon regardless, melting from the rich flavor.

“You can thank me later,” Albus teased as he watched Scorpius glow with joy.

“Food!” Scorpius sang as he savored the flavor. “How I missed thee so.”

At this, Albus frowned. “Lily said Delphi had left you locked away for weeks without food… is that true?” Albus asked full of concern.

“Well… I had that bag of Honeydukes candy…” Scorpius hummed as he took a sip of soup. At the moment, he was too grateful for being free from the cave to dwell on what he had been through. There would be time for that later.

Albus studied Scorpius silently as he tried to control the small pool of anger he felt boiling in the pit of his stomach. “I swear, if I ever see her again...” Albus’s tone carried venom.

“Albus,” Scorpius’s tone held warning. He didn’t want to talk of Delphi any more. “Hopefully, we won’t be seeing her again.”

Suddenly, the door burst open to reveal a very out-of-breath Draco. The sudden outburst caused Scorpius to jump and spill some soup down his shirt.

“Dad?” Scorpius sputtered as his attention split between the soup on his shirt and his father.

“Scorpius,” Draco gasped at the sight of his son awake and well. “Thank goodness you're finally awake,” Draco spoke in a whisper before striding over to his son.

“Hey, Dad,” Scorpius greeted with a smile.

Albus chose to stay quiet for the moment — knowing how upset Draco had been the past few days he thought it best to give the two a moment. His attention went to his half-eaten breakfast.

“Scorpius,” Draco seemed to be at a loss for words. He seemed to be fighting to keep his composure while simultaneously wanting to scoop his son up into a hug.

Scorpius studied his father, his smile not faltering. “Hug?” he questioned.

Draco nodded before bending down and giving his son an awkward but loving hug. They held the hug for a beat longer than normal.

“Scorpius, I’m so sorry,” Draco said as he pulled out of the hug and looked over his son yet again. He was happy to see that Scorpius looked like his bright, cheerful self.

“Dad, you did nothing wrong,” Scorpius said, his tone held confusion.

“I didn’t even realize…” Draco hissed, sounding frustrated with himself.

“It’s not your fault, Dad. She was able to trick almost everyone.” Scorpius took his father's hand as he spoke in an attempt to comfort him.

The room fell into an awkward silence as Draco fought to find the right words to articulate his feelings.

Before anything else could be said, the doors burst open yet again, causing all three to jump.

“Scorpius! You're awake,” Lily sang as she entered the room and skipped over to their beds, not taking notice right way of the tension in the room.

“H-hey Lily,” Scorpius greeted awkwardly, still startled by the outburst. Part of him wondered why Madam Pomfrey hadn’t come in yet to scold all of them for the noise.

“Good morning, Mr. Malfoy,” Lily greeted Draco as she strode to the foot of Scorpius’s bed.

“Good morning, Lily,” Draco replied as he gathered his normal composure.

“It’s good to see you are awake, Scorpius. Albus wouldn’t stop talking about you,” Lily joked as she shot her brother a glance.

“If Scorpius were gone than I would be stuck hanging out with you,” Albus teased back dryly.

“And what’s wrong with hanging out with me?” Lily pouted playfully. “I was the hero of this story you know.”

“Is that what you are going to call yourself?” Albus teased back as he tried to fight his smile. “I guess you do take after dad the most.” This won Albus a stifled chuckle from Draco.

Scorpius held back a giggle as he watched the two siblings go at it. Draco stood awkwardly next to his son, not so sure if he should intervene or if everything was okay.

“You really did save us though, Lily,” Scorpius interrupted. “Thank you.”

“It was no big deal,” Lily shrugged dramatically. “Just another day in the life of Lily Potter.”

“I guess I am proud to have you as my sister,” Albus said as he imitated his sisters shrug.

“Is this normal?” Draco whispered to his son.

“Isn’t it amusing?” Scorpius replied with a nod. “I’d love to have a sibling of my own someday,” Scorpius joked, shooting his father a side glance.

At a loss for words, Draco’s face went ever so slightly pink as he cleared his throat and stood up straight.

The three school kids giggled at the man's reaction.

“I’m only joking, dad. Besides, Lily is practically my sister,” Scorpius said.

“Yeah,” Lily agreed. “Except you’re a lot more fun than Albus would ever be.”

“Hey!” Albus exclaimed with a pout.

Now it was Albus’s turn to be the butt of the joke, but he joined in with everyone's laughter.

It wasn’t long before Madam Pomfrey came in to quiet down the rowdy four, though she, too, was affected by the joy that filled the room.

……..

It was a cold November evening. The sun was making it’s way behind the distant mountains and a crisp breeze swept through the air. 

Scorpius had been let out of the Hospital Wing only a day ago. Madam Pomfrey made him stay in bed for three full days before she was convinced he was well enough to go back to regular classes. As part of his recovery, he had been made to drink a disgusting position before each meal to help him put on weight. Scorpius could barely stand the drink and was glad to be rid of it and the hospital bed.

It had been a busy first day back since being kidnaped by Delphi. He had missed over a month's worth of classes and school work. Madam Pomfrey had not allowed him to do too much work while lay up in bed, insisting he needed to focus on healing. His teachers were willing to give him a pass due to the situation, and the fact that they knew Scorpius could catch up in just a few days, but it still didn’t sit right with Scorpius, missing all the extra information that could only come from a lecture.

Currently Scorpius sat against a large tree next to the great lake. He lazily slumped against Albus who was trying his darn best to finish up a Potions essay that was due the next day. A lazy, content smile found it’s way onto Scorpius’s lips as he watched his boyfriend scribble away on the crumpled parchment. 

“You know, you would probably get higher marks on your work if your writing was more legible,” Scorpius commented as he fought off a yawn. Despite the surreal feeling of not being locked away, he could not help but relax at the current mundane moment he and Albus were sharing.

“I don’t see why my writing would matter as long as the content is correct,” Albus grumbled as he started on his last paragraph.

“Readers get frustrated when writing is hard to read,” Scorpius teased.

“Well, not all of us can be a tidy writing prodigy,” Albus teased back, giving Scorpius a soft nudge.

“Writing prodigy? Where you do come up with these?” Scorpius chuckled. “My writing is average. It’s yours that is abnormally messy,” Scorpius said nudging Albus back.

“Perhaps my writing is just too artistic for you to comprehend,” Albus replied with a jokingly pompous tone.

“Artistic?” Scorpius questioned in a comical tone. “Is that what you are calling it?”

“Yes!” Albus confirmed as he wrote his last sentence. “Artistic.”

As Albus set the finished essay aside, the two boys looked into each other’s eyes, both relishing the beautiful, safe moment. Both feeling pure happiness to have the other by their side, to be able to have such a mundane silly conversation.

“Artistic…” Scorpius reiterated before breaking into a fit of laugher, closely followed by Albus. The two leaned on each other, filling the cool, fall air with light-hearted laughter.

“Do you think Professor Pennywise would fall for it if I told her that?” Albus asked between laughs.

“Maybe some extra credit for being witty,” Scorpius replied as he heaved with laughter.

The two carried on laughing until they slumped down in exhaustion. Scorpius once again leaned heavily against Albus’s side as he tried to compose himself after the laughing fit. He let out a small surprised gasp as Albus lifted his arm and wrapped it around Scorpius, pulling him into a hug. 

Now in Albus’s lap, Scorpius looked to Albus’s face to find a pink blush there, running from one cheek across his nose and to the other. Scorpius took in the sight for only a moment before smiling softly and melting into Albus’s chest. As Scorpius melted into Albus, Albus’s hug tightened as if he were desperately trying to absorb the blond boy into his body.

“I thought I had lost you,” Albus whispered into the top of Scopius’s head. He took a deep breath and savored Scorpius’s scent.

“It was a nightmare in that cave. I had no clue when one day started and the other ended, but worst of all I had no clue if you were alive or not,” Scorpius replied as he nuzzled Albus’s neck, also enjoying the scent of his lover. 

Albus replied by rubbing circles on Scorpius’s back. The anger he felt towards Delphi and what she had done left him speechless, unable to articulate how he felt into words. He knew if he so much as saw that woman again, he may discover power he did not know he had.

“We really are lucky to be alive,” Scorpius said after a long moment of silence. “When I think about it, it send chills down my spine, how close we both were to death. To being separated from each other forever...”

“It’s a good thing Delphi is an idiot,” Albus grumbled. Removing one of his arms from around Scorpius, Albus used the free hand lift Scorpius’s head from his neck so that their eyes met. “And it’s a good thing she underestimated how amazing, brave and strong you really are,” Albus said in a serious tone, his green eyes holding nothing but love for Scorpius.

Scorpius’s heart practically leaped out of his chest as a shiver ran down his spine. His cheeks held a pink blush, his gray eyes could not look away from the boy he loved.

“When I found out she had not killed you… How could I not give it everything? I had to save you,” Scorpius whispered. “All I could think about was getting to you.”

“I must be the luckiest person alive to have such a brave lover,” Albus hummed as his thumb lightly stroked Scorpius’s lower lip.

“It wasn’t just me, you know,” Scorpius replied with a soft smile.

“Lily said you refused to give up on finding a way out despite how hopeless your situation seemed,” Albus mumbled as he leaned in close to Scorpius, their noses almost touching. “She said you could hear me calling out to you.”

“I could feel you guiding me out of the cave,” Scorpius breathed as he closed the distance. 

The boys’ lips met softly, the kiss gentle and a bit hesitant. The two planted gentle kisses on each others’ lips as if they were testing the waters. As if both decided the pool was warm enough to jump in, they both deepened the kiss simultaneously. Their following kisses were both passionate and sloppy. 

Albus’s back was pinned to the tree. His right hand rested behind Scorpius’s head, gently fisting Scorpius’s soft golden locks and encouragingly pulling him deeper into the kiss. His left hand had somehow found its way under Scorpius's shirt and was exploring the soft, pale skin of Scorpius’s lower back.

Scorpius was now resting on his knees straddling Albus’s left leg. His left knee dangerously rubbed against Albus’s groin as the kiss deepened. His left hand gently braced itself on Albus’s chest, feeling every hammering heartbeat. His right hand clung greedily around Albus’s neck, desperately trying to pull his lover deeper and deeper into the kiss.

As their kiss deepened, the two became more enticed. The only thing the two could hear was the sound of their own increasing pulse and heartbeats. Their hands became more exploratory as the world around them faded away and their tongues danced around each others’, their teeth sloppily bumped with inexperienced. Both boys savored the taste and feeling of the other’s mouth, both becoming accustomed to the strange but welcoming sensation. 

As the kiss escalated, Scorpius let loose a deep satisfied moan as Albus’s fingers brushed up and down his spine. Albus replied with a deep moan of his own as Scorpius's knee pressed against his hardening groin. The two were practically eating each other’s mouths as if they were trying to suck the other’s tongue right out. It was now sloppy and uncontrolled and neither seemed to care, both too busy enjoying the feel of the other.

Like a bomb going off, the branches of the tree rustled as several birds took flight, causing both boys to jerk back to reality.

Scorpius pulled away from Albus, a small line of spit connected their lips. Both boys panted as they looked into each other’s eyes. Their gaze held a mix of joyus surprise and passion. Scorpius leaned back and rested on his butt, his legs now straddling Albus, one hand leaned back to support himself.

“That-that was nice,” Scorpius stuttered breathlessly as he wiped the spit from his lips. “Really nice.”

“Yeah… amazing” Albus replied just as breathless. “Shall we do it again?”

“Yes,” Scorpius replied almost immediately. “But maybe not now…. Not here,” Scorpius added as he became aware of how exposed they were to anyone passing by. “I don’t want an audience.”

Albus thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. 

The two stayed sitting for a moment as they gathered their emotions. Silence filled the air but not a single bit of it felt awkward, neither felt that anything needed to be said as they soaked in the serene atmosphere. 

After another moment, Scorpius rolled out of Albus’s lap and reclaimed his place next to Albus. He knew if he didn’t move from Albus’s lap they were most likely going to kiss again. He wrapped his arm around Albus’s as they held hands, their fingers intertwined. He rested his head on Albus’s shoulder as the two looked out over the lake. The fall sun was almost set, causing the lake to take on a golden orange hue.

The horrific events of the past and the uncertainty of the future currently floated from the two boys’ minds as they enjoyed the quiet, comfortable moment. Both soaked in the warmth of the other next to them and they relaxed against each other, watching the fall sky change colors with the setting sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it ends! The final chapter is over. I hope you enjoyed. I felt like this chapter hopped around quite a bit with time skips so I am sorry for that. I guess I am still learning how to make things go smoother. I am kind of sad that this is over. I know it’s only a short 6 chapters but I had a lot of fun writing this and heard from you all.
> 
> I may be making a sequel if my creative juices allow. I left it opened ended for an idea I have but it probably will be a while before the sequel is out. I like to write a good portion of my fics before I post them so maybe you will see the sequal around fall or winter. I say this but for all I know I may pump it out faster. I also plan to create a small one shot around Scorpius realizing his feeling for Albus so keep an eye out for that one. It will come out sooner. I will update about new things on the Tumblr, Pasta Princess, so if you want to know when I update I will put it up on there. 
> 
> I would like to thank my beta reader, Just_a_fangirl, for taking time out of her busy life to help me put this story together. She helped me with grammar as well as telling me if something was redundant or made no sense and I appreciate all the help. If you have the time then head on over to her page and take a look at her work.
> 
> Also, I would like to thank you all, my wonderful readers, for taking time to read this fic of mine and putting up with my writing. I am happy with all the comments I have received and the views and kudos and all that great stuff. I really appreciate it and it kept me writing. Hopefully you will all hang around for my other work.
> 
> If you have a moment please drop a comment and let me know how you thought of the story. I love to hear my readers feedback. Once again, thank you all for taking the time to read this fic.

**Author's Note:**

> So that is chapter one. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I wonder what is going with Albus and Scorpius? Maybe we will find out in the next chapter! Or maybe Lily will wake up and this has all been a dream and she is not really at Hogwarts but a pokemon trainer on her way to become a pokemon master!!! There is only one way to find out!!!
> 
> Also I would like to thank my beta reader Just_a_fangirl once more. She really, really, really, really helped me out with reviewing this fic and encouraging me to write it. If you all have a chance please check out her work as well.
> 
> I plan to update this fic about once a week. Most of the fic has been written and is currently in the middle of being edited so I think I should be able to keep a consistent schedule. This fic will have about 6 chapters all together. Expect the chapters to be posted on weekends. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed reading and please leave a review to let me know what you think. I love hearing what my readers think of the stories I write, both the good and the bad.


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